The Observer - 09.08.2026.pdf

订阅者 £2.40 起 2026年8月9日，星期日 / www.observer.co.uk / 第 12, 244 期 / £4.50 (爱尔兰 €5.00) # 观察者报 创立于 1791 年 # 乔戈罗峰的悲剧 六名著名尼泊尔登山者的遇难引发了全国哀悼和全球猜测。他们在积雪覆盖的山峰 1.9万,000 英尺高度处在做什么？ # Georgina Hayden 诱人的夏季派对蛋糕 杂志

# Rachel Cusk Megan Nolan 论事实、虚构与道德 新评论

# Isabel Coles 塞乌塔危机：“他们跳了……我们跟上了” 世界

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“胡说八道的敌人” 乔治·奥威尔，《观察者报》

观察者报观点

史诗级的失败

与伊朗之间六个月的战争证明了一件事：轰炸可以摧毁，但唯有外交才能达成目标。

当阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊在近六个月前被杀时，德黑兰街头出现了舞蹈，而且不仅仅是在他的批评者之中。伊斯兰革命的忠实拥趸们也随之起舞（见新闻页，第24页）。哈梅内伊领导着一个杀戮政权。随着他死讯的传开，数百万人感受到了一种希望，而这种希望是由那个他们被教导去仇恨的美国所激励的。

现在，希望已然稀缺。由美国和以色列在2月28日发起的战争带来了死亡，但并未带来政权更迭。伊朗的神权统治者们看起来比以往任何时候都更坚定地想要把持权力。在德黑兰被视为温和派的政治家们已被边缘化。敢于梦想的伊朗人被摧毁了。霍尔木兹海峡被封锁。全球范围内的石油和食品价格上涨。美国已经耗尽了其防空拦截弹的库存，导致基辅、摩尔多瓦、台湾或任何其他想要购买的人几乎分不到多少。

华盛顿误判了对手，挥霍了国际尊重，并交给控制海峡的德黑兰一个比其能安装在导弹上的任何武器都更强大的战略武器。据CNN统计，特朗普总统已38次声称接近与伊朗达成协议，结果都被证明是错误的。他曾七次取消重大袭击，希望最终能签署一项协议。他的随从们则被留在原地出丑。周二，他的财政部长声称美国正与伊朗进行谈判，协议可能在数小时内达成。伊朗反驳称，目前唯一在进行的谈判是与阿曼之间的谈判。

特朗普在谈到伊朗领导人时说：“他们只会让我生气。”而他只会让他们更坚定地把持权力。对特朗普外交政策进行公正评估几乎是不可能的。它是一个不断移动的目标，与其说是政策，不如说是摆姿态，基于的是挫败感和幻想而非事实。但作为地球上权力最大的民选官员意志的体现，它理应根据结果来评判。

这场战争的批评者应当承认四个现实。第一，美国领导的制裁以及美国和以色列针对伊朗及其代理人的军事行动，导致该政权在今年1月出现了一个虚弱时刻。当大多数主要城市的街道上挤满了抗议经济状况的人群时，像特朗普那样希望神权政治对权力的扼杀终于能有所松动，是合理的。第二，他试图促成这件事。他选择的方法——空中轰炸——失败了，正如人们预言的那样。这杀死了数千名无辜者（包括儿童），而该政权及其核野心和导弹威胁依然完好无损。但在德黑兰，就像在委内瑞拉一样，他斩首了一个令人厌恶的政权，在短暂的一刻，数百万受压迫的人欢欣鼓舞。第三，随之而来的混乱伤害了伊朗的邻国，但也伤害了伊朗本身。美国对其港口的封锁意味着伊朗无法出口石油。国际货币基金组织（IMF）估计，伊朗今年的经济将萎缩6%，且通货膨胀率高达70%。第四，这种经济压力可能会引发新一波的大规模抗议。考虑到抗议者面临的恐怖风险，这不太可能发生，但伊朗的新领导层正在选择他们的战场，显然在警惕挑起更多动荡。至少在德黑兰，目击者称宗教警察不再因为女性未佩戴希贾布而当场逮捕她们。

然而，最需要面对现实的人正是特朗普。他希望一场短期战争能让他成为自1979年以来首位能够向伊朗强加条件的美国总统。相反，现在是伊朗在强加条件。随着中期选举临近，华盛顿所能期待的最佳结果，就是霍尔木兹海峡重新开放，以及贸易和油价回归到2月27日的状态。

在伊斯兰共和国成立的 47 年里，没有任何一名美国高级官员与伊朗的最高领导人会面。考虑到该政权“美国必死”的口号，这一点是可以理解的。但如果目标是阻止伊朗拥有核武器并实现某种形式的地区稳定，那么将外交工作外包给海湾地区的小国是行不通的。巴拉克·奥巴马曾证明过可行的方法。他投入了 20 个月的谈判时间来达成 2015 年的伊朗核协议。当时没有人员伤亡，没有导弹发射，没有贸易瓶颈被封锁，也没有征收航运通行费。这是一项被特朗普蔑视、撕毁，且如今无法近距离复制的协议。observer.co.uk 09.08.26 3 期号 No. 1.2244万,244

谁在说

Ben Zand

到一月份，这些示威活动可能已成为人们记忆中最规模最大、最广泛的一次。在最初的欢欣鼓舞之后，伊朗开始了镇压。我们采访的人描述安全部队下跪以稳定瞄准，狙击手激光瞄准器的绿点在人群中移动，医院被冲击，受伤的抗议者在病床上被逮捕。世界版，第 24-25 页

Kenan Malik

对于右翼的某些群体来说，Jason Arday 已变得像他在学术机构和潜在的反种族主义者心中那样具有代表性。对于前者，他是多样性的面孔；对于后者，他是学术界向“觉醒文化”（wokeness）投降的例证。许多此类批评者将少数族裔学者贬为“DEI（多样性、公平和包容）雇员”，并抨击社会学等“伪”学科。如果我们拒绝承认无论在何处发现的剽窃和欺诈行为（即使是在黑人学者的作品中），我们就无法挑战此类主张。这样做只会给种族主义者和反动分子提供更多弹药。论坛版，第 28 页

Kitty Empire

威尔士音乐家兼制作人 Cate Le Bon 的穿着并非为了应对热浪。在 ICA 那个像汗蒸房一样的现场音乐空间里，Le Bon 穿着一件紧身的白色长袖连衣裙，给她带来了一种模糊的木乃伊新娘的气息。一个塑料头饰完成了这一造型——或者暗示着神职身份。她曾穿着锁子甲巡演，像个艺术流行风的圣女贞德，并在 2022 年专辑 Pompeii 的封面上穿上修女服，看到她继续致力于这种抢眼的头饰和不舒服的装扮，令人印象深刻。新评论版，第 22 页

Eva Wiseman

热量不平等现在正以阴郁且暴力的方式产生影响，揭露了阶级、护理漏洞以及（有时是）社区的谎言。当一些新父母在寻找空调酒店以帮助婴儿睡眠时，另一些人则在公园露营，或在幼儿昏迷后坐在急诊室（A&E）里。我们适应高温的能力取决于我们的收入，而关于如何保持凉爽的传单虽然具有扇风的潜力，但几乎没有用处，尤其是对于那些生活在贫困中的人。杂志版，第 7 页

Ben Bloom

在哈德斯菲尔德一座整洁的平房厨房里，挂着英国史上最快九旬老人的银色战利品。正如手工标牌上写的那样，“Col 的收藏”包括四枚欧洲田径金牌和四枚英国田径金牌。在接下来的两周内，就在他年满 92 岁之前，Colin Spivey 希望在前往韩国参加世界大师锦标赛时，为他的收获增加首批全球冠军头衔。体育版，第 9 页

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4 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

7 天

随耳所闻 “足球就是统一”——国际足联（Fifa）主席 Gianni Infantino 在三个洲级机构和九个国家协会撤回对他的支持后如是说。

本周简讯

错误导致性犯罪者在自由状态下杀害两名女性

一名惯犯性犯罪者周五被裁定谋杀两名女性并强奸第三名女性，此前警方和检察官出现了一系列失误。旧贝利法院（Old Bailey）获悉，40 岁的 Simon Levy 在 2025 年 3 月杀害了 Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo，五个月后杀害了 Sheryl Wilkins。Levy 曾有追溯至 2018 年的袭击女性定罪记录。大都会警察局在 2024 年 8 月将其风险等级从高风险降为中风险，且最初未能将 Valencia-Trujillo 的死亡视为谋杀。今年 2 月，Levy 因在伦敦地铁和火车上性侵 10 名女性以及一名女性监狱狱警而被定罪。量刑被推迟至周三。

300 米

上周危地马拉富埃戈火山在 50 小时的喷发期间，喷出的岩浆所达到的高度。

断电导致铁路乘客受困

由于一次 90 秒的停电，英格兰铁路网的数千名乘客面临了两天的交通中断。周四，西北部和中部的数百列火车停运，导致许多乘客受困。虽然电力中断时间很短，但英国国家铁路（Network Rail）的备用发电机未能立即启动，导致信号灯全部变为红灯。

Meta 因损害儿童健康被罚 5.67亿美元

新墨西哥州的一名法官命令 Meta 支付 5.67亿美元，以解决对儿童心理健康造成的损害。布莱恩·比德谢德（Bryan Biedscheid）法官还命令该公司对其 Instagram 和 Facebook 平台进行修改，以保护年轻用户。周四的这项裁决是在 3 月在同一案件中被命令支付 3.75亿美元 罚款之外的追加处罚。比德谢德将 比作一家工厂，造成了“必须消除”的污染。 表示，公司一直努力确保用户安全，并将对该裁决提出上诉。

前新纳粹分子将为保守党提供建议

一名在辞去地方议会候选人职务后的前新纳粹分子，将就极端主义问题为保守党提供建议。约书亚·博恩希尔-佩恩（Joshua Bonehill-Paine）

在战后破碎的景象中，一群流离失所的巴勒斯坦养蜂人在周六小心翼翼地从加沙城 al-Dabba 家族养蜂场遗址的蜂箱中采集蜂蜜。Jshad Abbath / Ap 曾因在一次计划中的新纳粹集会前发布反犹太主义材料，于 2015 年被判入狱，服刑三年。次年，他因种族骚扰前工党议员卢西亚娜·贝尔格（Luciana Berger）而被定罪。博恩希尔-佩恩近期因制作针对包括奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）和安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）在内的政治人物的贬损性深度伪造（deep fake）视频而闻名。保守党党魁凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）最初为其被选为议员进行辩护，称她“相信第二次机会”。

亚曼达·诺克斯将“喜剧”带到爱丁堡

在梅雷迪思·克切尔（Meredith Kercher）于意大利被谋杀近 19 年后，其前室友亚曼达·诺克斯（Amanda Knox）在爱丁堡节日边缘艺术节（Edinburgh Festival Fringe）推出了一场关于该案件影响的演出。诺克斯曾两次被判定谋杀，后又在上诉中两次被宣判无罪，她将此次演出定义为单口喜剧。超过 1万,000 人签署请愿书要求禁止该演出，但艺术节 ## The Observer news matrix

组织者坚持予以支持。评论家对此不以为然，但观众将其描述为“尊重”且“充满情感”的。

特朗普称伊朗战争“进展非常顺利”

“伊朗……进展非常顺利，”唐纳德·特朗普上周在社交媒体帖子中写道。他指的是这场持续五个月的冲突，但这句话也可以指伊朗政权。。特朗普上周声称协议即将达成，但就像他之前 30 次左右做出类似声明一样，并没有达成任何协议。伊朗和阿曼确实就建立一条有限的航运路线达成了一致，但该协议尚未签署。一名伊朗官员昨天表示，只要“美国接受伊朗的条件”，海峡就会开放。

泰国青少年在校园枪击案中杀害 8 人

一名青少年在曼谷郊区暖武里府的一次校园枪击案中，杀害了其祖父母、五名教师和一名学生。这名 14 岁的少年在袭击中还导致 23 人受伤，随后在德普西林学校（Debsirin school）——泰国最著名的教育机构之一——开枪自杀。这是该国今年以来发生的第二起校园枪击案；在泰国，大约每 10 人中就有一人合法拥有枪支，而更多的人非法持有。总理阿努廷·查恩维拉库尔（Anutin Charnvirakul）承诺，将立法禁止除官员以外的任何人在公共场合携带枪支。

污水处理厂失效导致污水外溢，首个泰晤士河游泳区受影响

该地点在 12 周前被命名为官方游泳点。当时的水样显示大肠杆菌菌落数是法定上限的六倍。

Jon Ungood-Thomas 新闻记者

今年 5 月，泰晤士河上首个指定的游泳水域在伦敦西南部的哈姆（Ham）和金斯顿（Kingston）开放。一直为该地点争取官方地位的游泳者们称这是一个“惊人”的时刻。

周五，日光浴者躺在绿树成荫的草岸上，家庭成员沿着河边步道漫步。一群公开水域游泳者在傍晚时分聚集，从浮桥跳入清凉的水中，与经过的桨板运动员和皮划艇运动员一起沐浴在阳光下。

“这里有一种惊人的社区感和亲近自然的感觉，”28 岁的游泳者之一丹妮拉·威尔莫特（Daniella Wilmot）说道。

然而，这里并非一个完美之选。在上游约三英里（5km）处是位于泰晤士河金斯顿的 Hogsmill 污水处理厂。6 月 2 日，该厂开始外溢原污水，污水顺着一条支流流入游泳水域。

同一天在哈姆和金斯顿进行的官方水质采样发现，可引起疾病的大肠杆菌菌落数增加了 65 倍以上，每 100ml 含有 5,500 个菌落形成单位（CFU），而 5 月 27 日为 82 CFU / 100ml——这已经是英国环境署（EA）规定的内陆游泳安全阈值 900 CFU / 100ml 的六倍。

这次最新的外溢事件对于环境署（EA）的官员来说可能并不意外。他们曾在 5 月检查过该厂，并发现其违反了环境许可。

《观察者报》审查了 2025 和 2026, 的 381 份环境署（EA）检查报告，该报告便是其中之一，许多报告揭露了投资不足和可避免的污水外溢问题。

强降雨可能会使污水处理厂不堪重负，增加储水箱容量有助于减少外溢。Hogsmill 厂仅拥有所需最低现场存储容量的 25%-30%；在 2025 年，它共外溢原污水 14 次，总计 138 小时。

泰晤士水务公司（Thames Water）承诺在 2025, 前升级 Hogsmill 厂，但 100 多项改进工程已被推迟，目前可能要到 2028. 才能完工。水务监管机构 Ofwat 正在调查这些延迟。

Teddington Bluetits 游泳小组创始人、63, 岁的玛琳·劳伦斯（Marlene Lawrence）表示：“Hogsmill 是直接影响我们游泳地点的污水外溢主要元凶之一。”

在哈姆游泳的前奥运赛艇运动员、69, 岁的伊恩·麦克纳夫（Ian McNuff）表示：“泰晤士水务公司运行的是一个在结构上无法满足其许可要求的设施。它没有按照承诺进行升级，这简直是一桩丑闻。”

2021 年 11 月，环境署（EA）和 Ofwat 启动了对污水处理厂和未经许可的污水排放的调查。Ofwat 已获得 3 亿英镑 的罚款和执行方案，环境署（EA）的刑事调查仍在继续。

环境署（EA）的调查涉及英格兰大部分污水处理厂。环境署（EA）还加强了对水利基础设施的检查，其中包括英格兰 2,200 多家污水处理厂。

《观察者报》对 2025 年 1 月 1 日以来的 381 份检查报告的审查显示，110 家工厂违反了其环境许可，其中包括由泰晤士水务公司运营的 19 家。

许可规定了

工厂运行的法律要求，涵盖场地管理、基础设施、水处理和原污水排放。违反许可可能构成刑事犯罪。

根据格林威治大学的分析，股东从英格兰和威尔士的 10 家水务和污水公司中提取了至少 £70 的股息。活动团体表示，应该在水利基础设施上投入更多资金，这样可以减少原污水的外溢。

在 Southern Water，一次检查……

“泰晤士水务公司运行的是一个在结构上无法满足许可要求的设施” 伊恩·麦克纳夫，奥运赛艇运动员

Teddington Bluetits 的成员在泰晤士河的 Ham 和 Kingston 游泳。Sophia Lunn / 观察者报 插图：前奥运赛艇运动员 Ian McNuff 对由 Sir Adrian Moniague 主席领导的 Thames Water 提出了批评。 去年 11 月，在东萨塞克斯郡 Burwash Common 的一项检查发现，由于承包商使用一块木头来撑开一个泵，而该木头在夜间脱落，导致该地点排放了未经处理的污水。官员们表示，这一事件表明“缺乏胜任的人员和资源”。在 United Utilities，官员们在坎布里亚郡的 Kendal 污水处理厂注意到，水槽状况糟糕，“有大块的抹灰层从墙上脱落并掉入水槽中”。该工厂被发现因“整体管理状况”而违反了其许可证。在 Channel 4 的关于水行业的纪实剧集《肮脏生意》（Dirty Business）中出镜的活动团体“Windrush 反污水污染”的 Peter Hammond 表示：“其中一些地点多年来没有任何显著改善。我们记录了许多地点，因为运行状况太差而导致污水泛滥。”Thames Water 表示，其在 2023 年 8 月告知了 Ofwat，超过 100 项环境方案将无法按时交付，成本增加是关键因素之一。其发言人表示：“Ofwat 已就延迟启动了一项执法案件，目前仍在进行中，我们正全力配合。我们仍然致力于履行所有义务。”Southern Water 的一名发言人表示，违反许可证通常是轻微的合规问题。该公司表示，Burwash Common 在违反许可证时处于承包商的控制之下。United Utilities 的一名发言人表示：“我们采取行动尽快解决 [问题]。许多问题与轻微违规有关。”该公司在 Kendal 计划开展工程以解决已发现的问题。代表该行业的 Water UK 表示，《观察者报》引用的检查样本仅占公司资产的一小部分，环境署（EA）正在调查其最关注的部分。一名 EA 发言人表示：“我们对废水处理厂违规行为的调查是该机构有史以来规模最大、最复杂的调查之一。我们将继续跟进违反许可证的行为，向水务公司施加监管压力并追究其责任。” --- 6 observer.co.uk^{}[] 09.08.26 新闻

“北欧翼区”提供钢琴、台球

伦敦旺兹沃思监狱的一个单元采用了优先考虑康复而非惩罚的方法进行了改造。瑞秋·西尔维斯特（Rachel Sylvester）写道，其结果令人瞩目。

在伦敦南部旺兹沃思监狱的“北欧”翼区，有一架供囚犯弹奏的钢琴。公共日间休息室配备了棋盘游戏、乒乓球桌和台球桌。图书馆藏书丰富，厨房里有烤面包机，花园里有高床花坛，种植着来自切尔西花展的植物。健身房和咖啡馆正在筹建中，而监狱管理人员则计划安装一个鱼缸。墙壁被重新粉刷成了令人心旷神怡的淡绿色。

该单元的座右铭是“打造更好的邻居”，其模式基于瑞典和挪威的监狱。这里设有合唱课、舞蹈课、阅读小组，以及每周一次的茶话会，囚犯和管理人员在会上讨论各自的顾虑。囚犯每天离开牢房的时间长达九小时，而监狱其他区域仅为两小时。

在英国最严酷的监狱之一中，这个容纳 143 名男子的翼区作为一项首创实验的一部分被改造，旨在研究不同类型监狱制度的有效性。这项由监狱管理局自 12 月起运行的随机对照试验，正在测试在刑事司法系统中优先考虑康复而非惩罚的影响，以及通过不同的招募和培训管理人员是否能改变结果。

今年 3 月，伦敦北部的彭顿维尔监狱也为 61 名囚犯创建了一个类似的北欧单元。与旺兹沃思一样，它也是一座陷入危机的维多利亚时代旧监狱；是一座 B 类接收监狱，关押着已被定罪或在候审期间被羁押的各类男子。这个北欧“统一”翼区里摆满了室内植物，所有囚犯在生日时都会收到工作人员寄来的卡片。其目的是创造某种常态化的氛围，为囚犯的释放做准备。

该试验的中期结果（已与《观察者报》分享）令人瞩目。在监狱管理局的官方称呼中，这些“先锋”翼区与监狱其他区域相比，袭击事件减少了 45%，自残行为下降了 57%，混乱情况降低了 62%。根据伦敦国王学院政策研究所的独立评估，工作人员的病假天数减半，留任率远高于监狱其他区域。此外，这里几乎没有毒品。

旺兹沃思监狱长安迪·戴维（Andy Davy）表示，结果“超出预期”，且与监狱内其他类似翼区“显著不同”。他的目标是“将该模式推广到更广泛的监狱中”，首先将北欧计划推广到另外两个翼区。

安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）作为首相，正面临其在监狱问题上的首次重大公众抵制。上周，他被迫将强奸犯和恋童癖者排除在政府的提前释放计划之外；周四，他下令进行审查，以确保诱骗团伙成员不会被提前释放。《泰晤士报》昨日报道称，在 2003 年反诱骗团伙法律出台之前，首相对诱骗案件的豁免权存在限制。

他现在面临进一步压力，要求豁免那些被判定为过失杀人罪的人，其中包括两名杀害警察安德鲁·哈珀（Andrew Harper）的凶手。哈珀警官于 2019 年在伯克郡死亡，当时他被三名逃离犯罪现场的青少年驾驶的逃逸车拖行。他的遗孀莉西（Lissie）表示，她将“绝不放弃”防止丈夫凶手被提前释放的斗争。曾调查此案的泰晤士河谷警察局前侦查总警司斯图尔特·布莱克（Stuart Blaik）表示，很难理解让他们在 13 年刑期中只服刑一半而非三分之二就出狱的理由。

‘你可以改变监狱环境，使其让同样的囚犯表现出不同的行为’ 监狱改革者 娜塔莎·波特（Natasha Porter）

伯纳姆表示，如果不冒着“监狱系统在几个月内达到饱和并崩溃”的风险，他就无法对提前释放计划增加进一步的限制。上周，英格兰和威尔士的男性监狱占用率已达 98%，剩余空间不足 2,000 个。预测表明，监狱可能会在 11 月前全部填满。人们的注意力集中在谁在服刑以及服刑多久，但同样重要的是囚犯在狱中经历了什么。在英格兰和威尔士约 8.65万,500 名囚犯中，许多人每天被锁在混乱、肮脏且过度拥挤的监狱中长达 23 小时，没有时间接受教育或工作。在这种制度下，改造的机会微乎其微。根据司法部（MoJ）的数据，约三分之一的囚犯——以及三分之二服刑期不足一年的囚犯——在出狱后再次犯罪。先锋翼（Vanguard wings）被刻意设立在两个

--- 新闻 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 7

茶话会或许能帮助解决监狱危机

摄影：Neville Elder 左图：英国官员与该试点项目的创始人娜塔莎·波特（Natasha Porter）参观位于宾夕法尼亚州的“小斯堪的纳维亚”监狱翼楼。 左下：美国囚犯在做家务。 右上：该翼楼的一只常驻猫。

……该国最具挑战性的监狱之一。旺兹沃思（Wandsworth）和彭顿维尔（Pentonville）监狱近年来都被列入特别监管措施，且深受高暴力率、自残、害虫以及安全问题的困扰。囚犯被随机分配到这些“斯堪的纳维亚”单元，而非将其作为良好行为的奖励；该试点项目涵盖了许多最暴力和最危险的男性，其中一些人此前曾袭击工作人员。运行成本和工作人员与囚犯的比例与监狱其他部分完全相同，尽管每个翼楼都获得了一笔 £1万,000 的“启动”拨款。

但主要区别在于工作人员。在先锋（Vanguard）翼楼工作的监狱管理人员是根据他们致力于改变罪犯生活的承诺而选拔的。这些管理人员接受了基于斯堪的纳维亚监狱康复方法的培训。他们曾在一家瑞典监狱度过了五天，上个月，部分人员参观了美国宾夕法尼亚州切斯特州立惩教机构（SCI Chester）的“小斯堪的纳维亚”翼楼，那里有猫狗、禅意花园、治疗室、卡布奇诺机和空气炸锅。

该试点项目由监狱改革慈善机构 Unlocked Graduates 设计，旨在测试其模式，该机构负责招募优秀毕业生进入监狱工作。该慈善机构创始人娜塔莎·波特表示：“我们所做的只是更有效地招募、培训和支持工作人员。我认为人们很难相信事情竟然如此简单。这真正证明的是，监狱的成效无法超越其工作人员的质量。”

波特补充道，来自斯堪的纳维亚的教训是，“如果离开牢房的时间被有目的地利用，并且囚犯与工作人员之间建立了更好的专业关系，那么增加离开牢房的时间会使监狱更安全。”“伦敦的这两个翼楼中都有一些非常棘手的囚犯。但我们正在证明，你可以改变监狱的环境，从而使同样的囚犯表现出完全不同的行为。这些囚犯并没有被娇惯，但他们拥有致力于支持他们不再犯罪的监狱管理人员。”

先锋翼楼工作人员和囚犯的士气远高于监狱的其他部分。一名在彭顿维尔斯堪的纳维亚单元工作的管理人员说：“我以前总是数着时间等下次休息。现在我午休时会留在走廊观察同事，以改进我的工作实践。”同一翼楼的一名曾进出过数十家监狱的囚犯说：“我真心认为这个翼楼是我改变生活的最佳场所。”

司法大臣亚历克斯·诺里斯（Alex Norris）正在密切监测这一实验。英国司法部（MoJ）的一位发言人表示：“我们决心让刑事司法系统培养出更好的公民，而不是更好的罪犯。早期迹象表明，这些翼楼有助于减少暴力，我们将继续研究有效的方法——包括来自海外的证据——以提高安全性，降低重新犯罪率并保护公众。”

这些单元引起了右翼人士的反弹，他们认为监狱应侧重于惩罚。今年早些时候，有披露称囚犯被配备了闹钟以便温和地唤醒，而不是由管理人员敲门唤醒，这引发了争议。一些受害者也会对罪犯举办茶话会和弹钢琴感到愤怒。

“我们不应忽视这样一个事实，即监狱最终的存在是为了使罪犯失去作案能力、起到威慑作用并进行惩罚，”影子司法大臣尼克·蒂莫西（Nick Timothy）表示。“当工党告诉我们，他们别无选择，只能将杀人犯、虐待儿童者和诱导犯罪团伙成员重新释放到街头时，我们必须确保紧缺的资源和空间得到了妥善利用。”但他补充道：“我们不应放弃降低重新犯罪率的机会，通过确保囚犯在服刑结束时已准备好就业并能再次为社会做出贡献来实现这一点。具备读写和计算能力并参与建设性活动的囚犯重新犯罪的可能性较低……我期待看到这一特定方法背后的证据。”

随机对照试验的最终结果将于12月公布，但切斯特州立监狱（SCI Chester）的监狱长吉娜·克拉克（Gina Clark）表示，初步结果与她在宾夕法尼亚州的经验相呼应，该“斯堪的纳维亚项目”于2019年在那启动，该单元于2022年全面投入运行。“当我第一次走进‘小斯堪的纳维亚’单元时，我想：‘这行不通。’它挑战了我认为自己所知道的所有关于矫正的认知。但在担任监狱长几个月后，我成为了一个信奉者，因为我看到了改变。”

英格兰和威尔士监狱首席监察官查理·泰勒（Charlie Taylor）表示，先锋翼楼（Vanguard wings）在降低暴力水平方面所取得的成就“令人瞩目”。他说：“当你访问时，必须不断提醒自己，这些人是随机选出的、标准的B类接收监狱男性囚犯，因为翼楼里的行为与你在监狱其他地方看到的完全不同。”他接着说：“这里没有你在万兹沃思（Wandsworth）和彭顿维尔（Pentonville）等地的其他翼楼行走时能感受到的那种紧张感。工作人员不再因为紧张而退缩，而是积极地面对囚犯——他们既坚定，又友好且给予支持。”

泰勒说，监狱管理人员中有一句老话：幸福是门形的（意指幸福就是开门离开）。“这是我们访问的许多监狱中的态度，但在先锋翼楼看到的恰恰相反。囚犯们被解锁，但工作人员训练有素——他们清楚地知道自己在翼楼里试图做什么，他们拥有高度的自主权，被赋予了完成工作的工具，但同时也要为他们执行工作的方式负责。”

首席监察官希望在每所监狱中都能看到一个“斯堪的纳维亚翼楼”。他说：“这里的概念验证表明，你不需要巨额的资金投入——你需要招聘合适的人才，提供一些培训，设定正确的标准，并创造正确环境以及适当水平的自主权和责任感。”他表示：“万兹沃思和彭顿维尔是全国最具挑战性的两所监狱。坦率地说，如果他们能在那些监狱里做到，那么在任何监狱里都能做到。” --- 8 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 新闻

自负与冒险或许将顶尖登山者推向了6,000m高空的死亡之境

在尼尔马尔·普尔贾（Nirmal Purja）做出在布罗德峰（Broad Peak）冒着危险环境攀登的“令人费解”的决定后，专家们在思考名气在这次悲剧中扮演了怎样的角色。

西蒙·厄斯本（Simon Usborne）报道

On 27 July，尼泊尔裔英国登山家尼尔马尔·普尔贾在巴基斯坦向其300 万 Instagram粉丝更新动态。此前，他刚刚登顶加舍布鲁姆II峰（Gasherbrum II），这是14座海拔8,000米以上高峰之一。他的私人客户——一名富有的俄罗斯女性——已精疲力竭准备回家，但普尔贾发现了一个再征服一座高峰的机会。

“我计算了一下我登顶8000m高峰的次数，”他在帖子中写道，字里行间透着那种让他成为该运动中极具争议之人的“阿尔法男”能量。“这时我突然意识到：如果我在此时登顶布罗德峰，就只剩下‘卓奥友峰’（Cho Oyu）一座了。那么我将成为历史上第一个两次登顶全部14座八千米高峰的人。而且是不使用氧气。”

三天后，43岁的普尔贾成为一组10名登山者在山脉陡峭西坡上的领队。布罗德峰海拔8,051米，是世界第12高峰，位于巴基斯坦巍峨的喀喇昆仑山脉，附近还包括世界第 2 高峰K2。布罗德峰以其陡峭、残酷的山面和强降雪而闻名，被认为是一项艰巨但可实现的挑战。

但在上午9点左右，当普尔贾接近5,700米高度时，一场巨大的雪崩将他及其团队席卷，将他们猛烈地抛向山下的冰岩之中。据报道，冲击力之大导致一名受害者的腿部被截断，随后确认死亡。

普尔贾与五名著名的尼泊尔登山者一同遇难：基利·彭巴·谢尔帕（Kili Pemba Sherpa）、尼玛·谢尔帕（Nima Sherpa）、普尔·巴哈杜尔·古隆（Pur Bahadur Gurung）、嘉鲁·谢尔帕（Gyalu Sherpa）和纳旺·廷杜·谢尔帕（Nawang Thindu Sherpa）。此外，来自巴基斯坦的资深登山向导索海尔·萨基（Sohail Sakhi）、2019年成为首位登顶珠峰的阿曼女性纳齐拉·阿尔·哈西（Nadhira Al Harthy）、中国登山者王忠以及来自美国的萨拉·马洛里·盖斯（Sarah Mallory Geis）也在这次事故中丧生。

这场十多年来8,000米级山峰上最严重的灾难震惊了登山界。一周后，人们开始质疑强大的人格魅力在塑造世界最高峰冒险欲望方面所起的作用。

“他们这些人加起来，可能登顶过100次以上8,000米级山峰，”美国登山家、受人尊敬的现代远征记录者艾伦·阿内特（Alan Arnette）表示。“当时有强降雪和大风，这意味着只要一阵强风或一个人类脚步就足以引发巨大的雪崩。他们为什么选择这么做？这让我感到费解。”

美国登山者伊恩·欧弗顿（Ian Overton）在几天前因呼吸问题放弃了对布罗德峰的尝试。他担心风暴导致积雪状况变得不稳定。在大风过后的第二天早晨，他沿着后来发生雪崩的那段陡坡下降。

“我记得当时在想，‘天呐，希望这里不要塌方，’”他说。

欧弗顿表示，在他收拾行囊时，大本营又迎来了更多降雪。他认为在8月2日之前——即雪崩发生三天后——不太可能出现新的天气窗口，因为那时新积雪和风吹积雪才会稳定下来或自行滑落。

“我第一次听说他们尝试登顶，是我的一位朋友发短信问我是否平安，”欧弗顿说。他表示，他们竟然尝试登顶让他感到惊讶。

“我感到惊恐且心碎……社交媒体上有一些关于可能幸存者的消息，但了解那个地形的人都知道，我没抱太大希望。”

这场灾难给尼泊尔带来了沉重打击，10名遇难者中有6人来自该国。这是自2014年和2015年以来最严重的高海拔登山人员伤亡事件，当时两次雪崩导致25名以上在珠穆朗玛峰工作的尼泊尔登山者丧生。包括普尔贾（Purja）在内的许多遇难者的地位进一步加剧了人们的震惊。这位前廓尔喀士兵在投身登山运动之前曾在英国精锐的特种舟艇部队（Special Boat Service）服役，他在当地是一位大名人，尤其是在2021年奈飞（Netflix）推出的一部热门纪录片《14座高峰》（14 Peaks）之后，该片讲述了他挑战在创纪录的时间内登顶所有8,000米高峰的历程。“那些像对待超级英雄一样崇拜尼尔马尔·普尔贾的人，也正是他之所以愿意承受如此高风险的原因所在。”——安基特·巴布·阿迪卡里（Ankit Babu Adhikari）。“这么多人……因为他展现出的勇气而将他视为偶像，”身在加德满都的尼泊尔记者、2022年书籍《夏尔巴人：被遗忘的珠峰守护者的生死故事》（Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest）的合著者安基特·巴布·阿迪卡里说道，“这是一次前所未有的损失。”虽然普尔贾并非夏尔巴族，但他的遗体已于上周四被从山上运下，他留下了妻子苏奇（Suchi）和年幼的女儿。他被认为提升了那些在为西方探险队服务期间数十年来丧命或失去手指且往往无名的工人们的地位。阿内特（Arnette）表示：“他向年轻的夏尔巴人证明了他们可以……以自己的方式登山并成名。”普尔贾加速了尼泊尔向导公司的崛起，使其成为挑战多年来占据主导地位的西方机构的竞争对手。他在2017年创立了Elite Exped公司，并在乔戈罗峰与由夏尔巴人经营的Seven Summits Treks公司以及由其好友明玛·加利·夏尔巴（Mingma Gyalie Sherpa，又名明玛 G）经营的Imagine Nepal公司联手。随行的还有索海尔·萨基（Sohail Sakhi），他是Moving Mountains公司的向导，该公司同样支持当地的向导和挑夫。明玛 G 随后领导了回收遇难者遗体的任务。在涉及此次事故的四家公司中，只有一家回应了询问。Seven Summit Treks的总经理塔内斯瓦尔·古拉盖（Thaneswar Guragai）针对许多报道称普尔贾在当天是事实上的领导者一事表示，他的团队是独立于普尔贾运行的。他拒绝就当天的天气预报发表评论，并补充道：“高海拔登山本身就带有显著风险，包括不可预测的天气和雪崩危险，所有登山者对此都心知肚明。”

2021年，普尔贾通过率领一支由10名全尼泊尔人组成的团队在冬季登顶K2峰，奠定了他的名声 —— 8 新闻 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 9 这一壮举被认为是喜马拉雅山脉最后的大奖之一。他说，对于尼泊尔而言，这次胜利“比世界杯还要重要”。这些人们登上了全世界的头版。几天后，在另外五名登山者在尝试攀登K2峰期间丧生后，我代表现为《观察者报》所有者的Tortoise Media采访了普尔贾，探讨这次胜利以及随之而来的悲剧。我问他是否认为在登山的Instagram时代，为了给粉丝和赞助商表现而产生的压力导致人们承担了不必要的风险。“对我来说不是这样，”他说，“那种勇敢并坚持攀登的决定可以让你成功，但它也真的能要了你的命。如果你在面对自己的能力时不够诚实——如果你只是为了自我满足或外部压力而非内在力量而这样做——结果不会太好。”然而在登山界，普尔贾正因为将极限推得太远而获得某种名声。该行业的几位领军人物——出于担心在网上被攻击或危及与尼泊尔当局关系的考虑，不愿公开表态——告诉我，他们预料到普尔贾的运气终会用尽。他们还质疑他平衡个人目标与团队需求的能力。阿内特说：“他是一名技术精湛、力量惊人且极具天赋的登山者。但仅仅因为你是一名伟大的足球运动员，并不意味着你必然能成为一名伟大的教练。”

2024年，《纽约时报》的一篇报道中，两名女性登山者指控普尔贾存在性行为不端。普尔贾通过律师否认了这些指控，称其为“虚假且具有诽谤性的”，并继续进行登山和向导工作。他的支持者们纷纷挺他，尤其是在“男性圈”（manosphere）中，那里的人们极其认同他强悍、超阳刚的公众形象。上周向他致敬的人中包括威尔士亲王，亲王赞扬他“对看似不可能之事的不懈追求，以及他的谦逊和无私”。

阿内特表示，在尼泊尔和巴基斯坦的大本营中长期存在一种观点，即当地的向导公司比西方同行具有更高的风险承受能力。尼泊尔记者阿迪卡里对此表示赞同，部分原因是当地的知识以及与顶尖夏尔巴人的紧密联系，意味着他们可以合法地将挑战推向极致。“但当这种自信延伸到公司和某些个人开始过度操作时，问题就出现了……容忍变成了过度自信，人们倾向于认为自己是不可战胜的。”阿迪卡里说，有时与成熟西方公司之间激烈且痛苦的竞争也是一个因素。“对于像普尔贾这样的人来说，我认为这已经超出了单纯的竞争。他凭借记录和成就迅速成名，我认为他想保持这种状态……那些像对待超级英雄一样庆祝他的媒体、品牌和人们，应该为他为何如此追求风险承担一部分责任。”

所有探险公司均未对“承担更大风险”的说法发表评论。在Instagram上宣布尝试攀登乔戈罗峰后，普尔贾回应了他的批评者。他否认了自己与任何人竞争的说法。“我唯一的战斗就是与昨天的自己战斗，”他在最后一条帖子中写道，现在的语气显得凄美且带有反思，尽管仍带有防御色彩。“我从未把任何一座山视为理所当然。一座都没有。在我的脚离开大本营的那一刻起，就是100%的投入。一直如此。永远如此。”

俯瞰喀喇昆仑山脉，包括背景右侧的K2峰和中心位置的乔戈罗峰。Yonysin Wang / Getty

2021年冬季攀登K2峰后的尼尔马尔·普尔贾。Aaron Qureshi / AFP, Getty

扫描二维码收听《观察者报》慢速新闻播报（The Observer Slow Newscast）之《Camp 3 灾难》，讲述尼尔马尔·普尔贾冬季登顶K2峰的故事。

六名登山者与最后一次致命攀登

Poppy Bullard 审视了 Nirmal 'Nims' Purja 以及其他尼泊尔登山者的卓越人生，他们在巴基斯坦喀喇昆仑山脉的一场导致 10 人死亡的雪崩中丧生。

Nirmal Purja

Purja（43岁），被称为“Nims”，在 2021 年凭借其奈飞（Netflix）纪录片《14座高峰：没有不可能》（14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible）而名声大噪，该片记录了他挑战攀登世界 14 座最高山峰并打破纪录的尝试。中学毕业后，他加入了英国陆军的廓尔喀团，随后进入特种舟艇部队（Special Boat Service），成为首位进入该部队的廓尔喀人。他于 2012 年开始登山，并在 2018 年离开海军，将生命奉献给登山事业。除了多次打破纪录的登顶外，他的工作重点在于提升尼泊尔登山者的知名度，因为长期以来，他们被简单地视为西方探险家的助手。2024 年，两名女性对他提出性侵指控，他对此予以否认。他的葬礼将在英国举行。

Kili Pemba Sherpa

Nima（45岁）是尼泊尔登山界的巨擘，2026 年是他最成功的一年。7 月 3 日，他完成了登顶世界所有 14 座 8,000 米级高峰的目标，全球达成此成就的人数不足 50 人。他参与了 Purja 在 2021 年打破纪录的 K2 冬季首次登顶，K2 被认为比珠穆朗玛峰更危险。这次远征是 Purja 旨在提升尼泊尔登山者作为独立登山家地位的运动中的关键部分。

Nima Sherpa

36 岁的 Nima 是向导界的一颗冉冉升起的新星。他出生于尼泊尔东部偏远的桑库瓦萨巴省（Sankhuwasabha）的一个农民家庭，于 2015 年开始担任徒步和远足向导，随后在 2021 年转向高海拔登山。仅在今年，他就登顶了世界 8,000 米级山峰中的四座。他曾在 Nirmal Purja 创立的 Elite Expeditions 公司担任高级向导。

Pur Bahadur Gurung

“Yukta”（37岁）是珠穆朗玛峰的资深登山者，曾 10 次登顶，并攀登了世界 14 座最高峰中的 11 座。他最初以挑夫和远征厨师开始职业生涯，随后成为向导。他最著名的成就包括在短短 12 天内登顶巴基斯坦的四座 8,000 米级高峰，以及在 24 小时内登顶 K2。2024 年，他参与了一支珠峰团队，该团队发现了一只 100 年前的靴子，据信它属于安德鲁·欧文（Andrew Irvine），欧文于 1924 年与乔治·马洛里（George Mallory）一同在山上失踪。

Gyalu Sherpa

这位 47 岁的向导被描述为尼泊尔登山界的“无名英雄”，其向导生涯跨越十年。在去世时，他担任 Seven Summit Treks 的高级高海拔向导。据信在创纪录的表现中，他去年在同一个赛季内三次登顶世界第三高峰干城章嘉峰（Kanchenjunga）。

Nawang Thindu Sherpa

这位 28 岁的向导出生于一个经验丰富的登山世家，他还参与了多次艰险的救援任务，包括 2025 年安纳普尔纳峰雪崩后搜寻两名夏尔巴登山者的行动，以及今年在马拉库二峰（Malaku II） 7,000 米以上高度回收一名捷克登山者遗体的行动。

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10 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 新闻

有些蔬菜耐热，但大多数并不耐热：热浪迫使厨师发挥创意

为了应对成本高昂、产量低迷以及章鱼过剩的炎热夏天，餐厅正在重新思考菜单。

Tomé Morrissy-Swan 报道

从提前收获到厨房过热，再到批发价格飙升，持久的高温天气给餐饮业带来了一个充满不确定性的夏天。该行业长期以来有着既定且计划好的规范：夏天用番茄和西葫芦，冬天用韭葱和羽衣甘蓝。但天气颠覆了这些预期。环境局已宣布英格兰一半地区处于干旱状态，上周农民警告称，天气将导致蔬菜产量减少且价格上涨。

来自 Growing Communities（一个同时也向餐厅供货的有机蔬菜配送计划）的 Mathew Day 表示，尽管投入了“无休止的灌溉时间”，但对于许多蔬菜来说，天气“太热”而无法生长。番茄等主食的批发价格上涨了 60%，冰山生菜上涨了 90%。西兰花和豌豆的产量大幅下降。

对于餐厅而言，这意味着在原本应该是英国生长旺季的时期，成本增加且对进口的依赖程度提高。

“我们几乎立即就察觉到了影响，”西萨塞克斯郡沃辛（Worthing）餐厅 Tern 的共同所有者 Johnny Stanford 说道，该餐厅仅使用英国本土农产品。“情况是以周为单位而非以月为单位在变化。我们必须根据目前能获得的最优质产品来灵活调整，而且这种调整相当频繁。”

Stanford 表示，他经常不得不采购“B级农产品”（“不完美，但仍可食用”），这需要厨房投入更多精力。重新印刷菜单和创作新菜肴同样耗费时间和金钱。Stanford 认为，在利润已经微乎其微的时刻，批发价格的上涨可能会威胁到某些企业的生存。

萨里郡埃舍（Esher）米其林星级餐厅 Starling 的主厨 Nick Beardshaw 表示，温暖天气的影响将在未来几个月内持续显现。他预测 7 月的气温升高将对苹果和梨产生不利影响，导致其生长受阻并提前脱落。他补充说，土豆、花椰菜和西兰花也面临困难。

反之，一些水果和蔬菜则生长茂盛。Day 解释说，根系较深的植物对干旱的抵抗力更强。“但因素很多。不同的种植者根据其耕作方式、运气和风土，取得了不同的成效。在泥炭或粘土上耕种的人会有更多水分。”

在沙质土壤地区，情况要困难得多。在大多数地方，熊蜂、甲虫、蝴蝶和其他传粉媒介也遭受影响，因此即使是渴望阳光的番茄植株也并非在所有地方都能茁壮成长。

尽管如此，一些厨师，尤其是那些优先选用季节性产品的小型机构，正看向积极的一面。Beardshaw 说，今年的樱桃格外美味。

在伯克汉姆斯特德（Berkhamsted）一家拥有自有农场的餐厅 Wild 中，首席种植员 Jude Allen 表示，法国豆、番茄和茄子都生长得非常好。

伦敦市中心克莱肯威尔（Clerkenwell）地中海餐厅 Morchella 的主厨 Daniel Fletcher 表示：“现在是成为一名厨师的有趣时刻。随着酷热天气，菜单变得更轻盈、更清新，更多地以蔬菜和海鲜为基础。”

越来越多的餐厅开始供应地中海章鱼，由于海洋热浪的影响，大量章鱼进入了英国海域。伦敦西区切尔西（Chelsea）餐厅 The Sea, The Sea 的 Alex Hunter 表示，能够无需进口就采购到章鱼，并能支持康沃尔郡的渔业，这令人“兴奋”。

与此同时，苏格兰小龙虾和扇贝的供应商由于担心用于维持其生存的冰袋在抵达前融化，无法向批发客户发送产品。

马修·戴（Matthew Day）希望本季的不确定性能够促使餐厅变得更加灵活，并与可持续农场合作，不过他补充道：“我想规模较大的餐厅集团以及那些缺乏灵活性的餐厅，会寻找廉价的替代品来填补菜单上的空白。”

*适用资格标准。条款与条件以及个人储蓄账户（ISA）规则适用，利率在 1, 2 或 3 年内固定。利率在印刷时间 09 / 08 / 2026 为准。Premier Triple Access Flexible Cash ISAs 的利率可随时更改而无需通知。如果您转移 ISA，最低存款额为 £0（申请必须在开户之日起 30 个日历日内收到），否则为 £1. 利息每月支付或在期末支付（由客户选择）。“AER”（年度等效利率）显示如果利息每年支付并复利一次时的利率。 “免税”是指在满足所有 ISA 条件的情况下，利息免缴英国所得税。税收的水平和基础可能会发生变化，且税收减免的价值取决于您的个人情况。巴克莱银行通过 Barclays Bank UK PLC 向其客户提供银行和信贷产品。Barclays Bank UK PLC 经金融行为监管局和审慎监管局授权。在英格兰注册。注册号 9740322. 注册地址：1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP ---

新闻 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 11 Ayoade Bamgboye 在《周六夜现场》英国版的一个短剧中饰演凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch），彼得·塞拉菲诺维奇（Peter Serafinowicz）饰演奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）。右侧为喜剧演员史蒂夫·马丁（Stevie Martin）。Sky UK

讽刺短剧在“周六夜现场”效应带动下重返爱丁堡艺术节

喜剧演员们表示，这部热门节目的英国版为一度失宠的节目形式带来了新的热潮。约翰·辛普森（John Simpson）从爱丁堡报道。

电视委约订单的减少以及公众对社交媒体短视频的贪婪胃口，使得过去十年对于短剧喜剧演员和讽刺作家来说十分艰难。但今年的爱丁堡节日边缘艺术节（Edinburgh Festival Fringe）感受到了“SNL效应”——在《周六夜现场》英国版（Saturday Night Live UK）推出后，喜剧演员们表示，它为短剧和讽刺剧创造了新的热潮。

这部美国喜剧形式的英国版最初遭到了质疑，但强劲的收视率和良好的评价为其在 Sky One 频道赢得了第二季的续订。上周开始的艺术节上，几位《周六夜现场》英国版的演员和编剧的个人秀销售情况良好。

这种影响也波及到了其他领域——从学生喜剧到英国一些最古老的短剧和讽刺节目。曾参加名人游戏节目《任务大师》（Taskmaster）的选手斯蒂维·马丁（Stevie Martin）与学生喜剧团体合作。她最初在杜伦大学的短剧小组起步，成员包括尼什·库马尔（Nish Kumar）和埃德·甘布尔（Ed Gamble）等喜剧演员，她将于 8 月 23 日主持艺术节上的“学生短剧大赛”（Student Sketch Off）。在之前的艺术节演出中，她的单口喜剧秀《云》（Cloud）取得了巨大的个人成功。

“我认为 SNL 给短剧喜剧演员提供了一个比单纯做网络内容或最终转为个人表演更广阔的目标，”她说。“我一直在与许多在读大学的年轻短剧喜剧演员合作，他们都向我询问关于 SNL 英国版的情况，而且他们都看过。它给了人们希望和兴奋感，并激励人们发挥创造力；如果你看到电视上或目前所处水平之上完全没有可以追求的目标，你是无法这样创造的。”

自 20 世纪 80 年代和 90 年代英国电视短剧喜剧的鼎盛时期以来——当时《不是九点新闻》（Not The Nine O'Clock News）和《模仿秀》（Spitting Image）的观众人数达到 1000 万或更多——委约方向已从简短的剧本场景转向日益青睐成本更低的讨论类节目（panel-show）形式。

尽管 BBC 的《死戒指》（Dead Ringers）和查理·布鲁克（Charlie Brooker）的《屏幕擦拭》（Screenwipe）在 21 世纪初和 2010 年代表现良好，但过去 10 年，短剧场景在很大程度上迁移到了网络，而极少数喜剧演员能够依靠简短的病毒式片段维持生计。

今年艺术节的领先讽刺作家包括迈克尔·斯派塞（Michael Spicer），他的《隔壁房间》（The Room Next Door）片段多年来在网上引起轰动。斯派塞曾与马丁和库马尔一同出演 BBC Two 的《大杂烩报告》（The Mash Report），该节目在五年前被广播公司取消。他表示：“在我的艺术节演出中，我说 SNL 英国版很重要，因为它是一个老派的综艺节目。”

“电视广播公司需要采取更多行动来……”

SNL 英国版最精彩片段

最后的晚餐

由风格极其 camp 的杰克·谢普（Jack Shep）饰演的戴安娜王妃，与阿尔·纳什（Al Nash）饰演的温斯顿·丘吉尔、拉里·迪恩（Larry Dean）饰演的弗雷迪·默丘里，以及从玛丽·西科尔（Mary Seacole，由 Ayoade Bamgboye 饰演）到本杰明·泽法尼亚（Benjamin Zephaniah，由 Hammel Animashaun 饰演）的其他英国英雄们，一同参加大卫·爱登堡（David Attenborough）的最后一餐。

背叛者：巨大的螃蟹人

塞莱斯特·德林（Celeste Dring）饰演克劳迪娅·温克尔曼（Claudia Winkleman），生动地描绘了观看《背叛者》（Traitors）圆桌会议时的挫败体验：忠诚者们未能发现其中一人是背叛者的迹象。或者在这个案例中，是一个巨大的螃蟹。

法拉奇的酒吧新闻发布会

设定在一个想象的未来中，由彼得·塞拉菲诺维奇饰演的奈杰尔·法拉奇担任首相，凯米·巴德诺克（由 Ayoade Bamgboye 饰演）担任其副手，而唐纳德·特朗普则是国王。想要让人们回到客厅，坐下来在电视上观看这样的节目，因为在过去的 10 年里，素描喜剧（sketch comedy）已经输给了人们的手机。斯派塞目前正带着他的新剧《Hope All's Well》参加爱丁堡艺穗节，他补充道，尽管他不是原版《周六夜现场》（SNL）形式的粉丝，但他觉得其英国版的推出，以及大卫·米切尔和罗伯特·韦伯在最近的 Channel 4 剧集《Mitchell and Webb are Not Helping》中的回归，可能预示着一种“文化转变”。在政治素描喜剧节目《NewsRevue》担任制作人 25 年的艾玛·泰勒表示：“我认为人们绝对再次产生了兴趣，而且这种节目的存在在业内引起了轰动，这为我们潜在地提供了另一个渠道。”《SNL UK》在 Sky One 首播，当晚观众人数为 22.6万,000 人——代表 3.2% 的观众份额——其第一季在七天综合观众人数中平均约为 50.6万,000 人。随着剧集的推进，传统广播人数有所下降，但该节目实现了显著的病毒式传播，在 YouTube 和 TikTok 等社交媒体平台上产生了超过 8600 万次观看。《SNL UK》的主编 Daran "Jonno" Johnson 表示：“这个节目非常好，我为此感到非常自豪，但我认为电视上出现了一档素描喜剧节目这件事，比它本身是否优秀更具有影响力。”目前在爱丁堡进行首场个人秀《Here Comes Mr Funny》的 Johnson 表示，到第一季的第二集时，演员和写作团队就意识到该节目受到了良好的反响。尽管近年来出现过其他优秀的素描喜剧节目，但与之前的时代相比，“它们太稀少了”，他希望《SNL UK》能带动更多电视素描喜剧的委约制作。

噢，达西先生！费瑟的衬衫在陆地上再次掀起波澜

Lily Isaacs

当戴娜·科林（Dinah Collin）为BBC 1995年改编的《傲慢与偏见》制作一件简单的亚麻衬衫时，她从未想象过在三十多年后，它依然会被人们津津乐道。但这就是科林·费瑟（Colin Firth）从湖中现身的威力。

现在，费瑟在改编自简·奥斯汀小说的剧中饰演达西先生（见右图）时穿着的这件衬衫，作为巡展“服装高级定制”（Costume Couture）展览的一部分，正在爱丁堡的Dovecot（一家挂毯工作室兼艺术场馆）展出。在哈利法克斯的Bankfield博物馆于2024年以£2.5万,000的价格购入该件衣物后，这是它首次在私人收藏之外展出。

尽管这件衬衫并非原著小说的一部分，但它成为了电视史上最著名的场景之一。它是为安德鲁·戴维斯（Andrew Davies）的电视改编版而创作的，在剧中，达西在从湖中现身后意外遇到了伊丽莎白·班内特，他的亚麻衬衫被浸得透湿。

这个场景是一个实际的解决方案，而非宏大创意计划的一部分。虽然制作团队希望达西能给伊丽莎白（由詹妮弗·埃布尔饰演）带来惊喜，但费瑟不愿赤裸上身出镜。当时为服装公司Cosprop工作男装设计师克里斯托弗·普林斯（Christopher Prins）建议改为一件湿透的摄政时期衬衫。

“那是灵光一现的时刻，”Cosprop的公司经理克里斯·加利克（Chris Garlick）说道，该公司由获得奥斯卡奖的设计师约翰·布赖特（John Bright）创立。

对于《41件物品中的简·奥斯汀》（Jane Austen in 41 Objects）的作者、牛津大学教授凯瑟琳·萨瑟兰（Kathryn Sutherland）来说，这件衣服代表了奥斯汀笔下的英雄在银幕上塑造方式的一个转折点。“这件衬衫赋予了达西一副躯体，”她说，“[他]变得浪漫化且充满活力。”

加利克认为，这件湿衬衫也改变了穿着者的生活。“这是科林作为性感符号职业生涯的开始，”他说。

科林表示，该场景持久的吸引力与衣服本身关系不大。“这在很大程度上与他们的关系有关，”她说，“她真的感到惊讶，而他深感尴尬。导演执导得非常精妙，演员表演得也非常出色。”

她回忆起在没有互联网的情况下研究摄政时期服饰的艰辛过程，这涉及到前往英国各地的博物馆。团队希望服装既有真实感又充满生命力。“它捕捉到了书中的精髓和角色，”她说，“现在感觉依然新鲜。”

Cosprop还为奈飞（Netflix）改编的《傲慢与偏见》提供了服装，该剧将于今年晚些时候发行。加利克暗示，观众不应期待湖中场景的简单复制。“会有一个时刻，”他说，“可能会更具挑逗性。”

--- 12 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

新闻

垃圾桶脸及其之后：一位漫画英雄诞生了

David Barnett

凭借其古怪的披风服装、基于垃圾桶的头盔以及星际背景故事，“常客”补选竞争者垃圾桶伯爵（Count Binface）看起来完全像个漫画角色。现在，他真的成了一个。

在周四垃圾桶伯爵——其并非秘密的真实身份是喜剧演员兼作家乔恩·哈维（Jon Harvey）——与改革英国党（Reform UK）领导人奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）的对决之前，一部汇集了众多漫画才俊的图形选集已经发行。

这本72页的书由独立出版商SelfMadeHero紧急发行。贡献者包括邪典作品《路德·阿克赖特》（Luther Arkwright）的创作者布赖恩·塔尔博特（Bryan Talbot）；戴夫·麦基恩（Dave McKean），他在20世纪80年代和90年代作为极具影响力的DC漫画系列《睡魔》（Sandman）的封面艺术家而闻名；以及史蒂文·艾普尔比（Steven Appleby），在其40年的职业生涯中，他的作品多次出现在《观察者报》上。

艾普尔比的漫画条设想了一个取决于克拉克顿（Clacton）补选结果的世界，而作品曾出现在《纽约客》上的贝基·巴尼科特（Becky Barnicoat）则想象伯爵的头盔将引发一场“火热垃圾桶之夏”的时尚趋势。

总部位于伦敦的艺术家克伦特·艾博（Krent Able）则走完全超级英雄路线，让垃圾桶脸面对

“在克拉克顿，如果你需要办成某件事，别指望政治家”

无论奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）还是一个垃圾桶在周四的补选中获胜，对于克拉克顿（Clacton）和附近杰威克（Jaywick）的居民来说，情况都不会有太大改变。他们告诉泽维尔·格林伍德（Xavier Greenwood），我们依然会照顾好自己。

在过去的两年里，克拉克顿被当作英国政治僵化的一个案例研究，成为讨论分裂、匮乏和报复的机会。它在2024年选举奈杰尔·法拉奇为国会议员，而由于改革英国党（Reform UK）的领导人为了巩固支持而在该海滨选区触发了一场补选，因此在周四，人们被问到是否会再次这样做。人们还被要求考虑一个装扮成垃圾桶的人的承诺，以及其他32名来自远至澳大利亚的候选人的承诺。工党、保守党和自民党因认为这场选举是一场闹剧而选择抵制，但这里的感受大致相同。

当地的观点是投票率将很低。而其他所有地方的观点是，法拉奇可能会赢得补选，但会失去他仅存的大部分信誉——尤其是因为一旦重新就任国会议员，他可能还会面临一项关于未申报礼品的最新调查。在克拉克顿，国家政治的权谋看起来不像是一种变革工具，而更像是一场侧翼表演。

在克拉克顿的拱廊街和游乐场设施向南两英里处，沿海村庄杰威克并没有多少游客。在法拉奇最近的竞选视频中，他解释自己为该选区做了什么，也没有提到这里。在社区中心外，一名穿着涅槃乐队（Nirvana）T恤的。“他们喜欢把我们置于糟糕的境地，说我们真的很匮乏，”她说，“当你周围有这么可爱的人时，你怎么能说这里匮乏呢？”

在中心外，年轻人正在排练一场综艺表演，为由博比-简·霍尔斯-史密斯（Bobbie-Jean Halls Smith）和德斯蒂尼·汉南（Destiny Hannam）运营的“桑尼军队”（Sonny's Army）筹款。她们在 12 和 16, 岁时创立了这个慈善机构，灵感来自霍尔斯-史密斯的哥哥桑尼，他出生时患有一种罕见的心脏病。“我们都像家人一样对待彼此，”房子外的青少年说。“我们不是像家人一样对待彼此，”桑尼的母亲达内尔（Danell）插话道，“我们就是家人。”

巴里·希梅尔（Barry Shimell）与妻子苏齐（Suzy）住在海滨的一栋房子里，他经营着杰威克的社区花园。花园里即将安装教室，以便孩子们来参观并学习土地知识。“我们曾让孩子们来这里，告诉他们可以采摘草莓和任何他们喜欢的其他水果，”希梅尔说，“而他们说：‘我们不能吃，它们有毒。’”

从外部看，杰威克没有什么优势。但当地人很开心。“我爱这里，”萨拉（Sarah）在门口说，“人们议论杰威克，但他们根本不知道自己在说什么。这个社区很美好。他之前住院了，”她指着她的伴侣说，“他差点死在这些台阶上。每个人都……”

--- 新闻 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 13

……对抗一个看起来相当熟悉的反派——黏液青蛙勋爵（Lord Slimefrog）。图形小说作家米凡威·特里斯特拉姆（Myfanwy Tristram）探讨了选举中玩笑候选人的历史。这个想法来自SelfMadeHero的总经理艾玛·海利（Emma Hayley），她说现在是时候“以漫画形式庆祝英国政治中这一令人兴奋的新力量”了。

海利自“得知他将歌手阿黛尔（Adele）国有化的政策”以来一直是垃圾桶脸（Binface）的粉丝，她补充道：“我感谢所有付出额外努力的作家和艺术家，因为他们相信这部至关重要的政治讽刺作品。而且因为他们认为这是一个庆祝一个装扮成垃圾桶的人的有趣想法。”

垃圾桶脸勋爵（Count Binface）被誉为英国政治中一个“令人兴奋的新力量”。SelfMadeHero

SelfMadeHero成立于2007年，是英国领先的独立图形小说出版商之一，主要以文学改编作品和图形传记而闻名。2017年，该公司出版了一本类似的选集《科尔宾漫画书》（The Corbyn Comic Book），其中包含关于时任工党领袖杰里米·科尔宾（Jeremy Corbyn）的漫画短篇。出版商表示，垃圾桶伯爵（Count Binface）这本书的预售订单“激增”，目前正在考虑第二次印刷。这本书售价£9.99，是非授权作品且未邀请该伯爵参与，每售出一本，将有10%的金额捐赠给无家可归者慈善机构Shelter。哈维（Harvey）于2017年以“水桶头勋爵”（Lord Buckethead）的身份进入政坛，在当时的大选中挑战时任首相特蕾莎·梅（Theresa May），随后又在选举中与鲍里斯·约翰逊（Boris Johnson）以及最近在梅克菲尔德（Makerfield）与安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）竞争席位。他告诉《观察者报》：“我还没机会看。我希望他们是以我对待尘世冒险的同样精神来创作的，如果他们是在为Shelter筹款，那太棒了。”法拉奇（Farage）未回应置评请求。这里当时在说：“莎拉，你需要什么吗？”在杰威克（Jaywick），如果你需要办成某件事，你不会等待政治家的帮助。“就像那个路灯，”退休的英国皇家邮政司机阿曼达（Amanda）说，“在我投诉之前，它已经坏了七年了。”目前尚不清楚是否有任何国家级政治家能够应对像杰威克这样一个对干预持怀疑态度的地区。2024年，处于无绝对控制状态的滕德林区议会（Tendring District Council）通过了一项耗资1.26 亿英镑m的计划，旨在用20年时间振兴该地区。当地人对所有提案并不确定。“他们说你可以搬出平房，住进全新的房子，”希梅尔（Shimell）说，“人们不想搬，因为他们有邻居。”改革英国党（Reform UK）得到了褒贬不一的评价。莎拉支持该党，但阿曼达“甚至不愿考虑法拉奇”。但主要的情绪是冷漠。只有在被提醒时，居民们才会对法拉奇重新赢得席位表现出兴趣。“（政治家们）来到这里，说‘我们会清扫道路，请投票给我们’，”

“政客们来到这里，说‘我们会把路扫干净，请投票给我们’。然后 10 分钟后他们就消失了，”巴里·希梅尔（Barry Shimell）说道。“然后 10 分钟后他们就消失了。”上周，十多位补选候选人参加了在克拉克顿-昂-希（Clacton-on-Sea）举行的一场竞选集会。法拉奇（Farage）缺席了此次活动，但这位改革英国党（Reform UK）的领导人似乎相当认真地对待这次补选。据报道，该党的活动人士被从大曼彻斯特市长选举中抽调，转而支持克拉克顿。在法拉奇未现身的情况下，该党跌至第三位。相反，他一直在克拉克顿四处奔走竞选。Breitbart 伦敦版编辑拉希姆·卡萨姆（Raheem Kassam）也在克拉克顿为改革英国党（Reform UK）助选。来自克拉克顿的工党支持者马丁·苏克（Martin Suker）认为，需要彻底的变革来防止更多补选——

克拉克顿码头上的游戏机和游乐设施，选民将在周四的补选中从 34 位候选人中做出选择，其中包括奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）。

摄影：加里·卡尔顿（Gary Calton）

左图，游客在一天结束时离开杰威克沙滩（Jaywick Sands）。该地区正由滕德林区议会（Tendring District Council）根据一项拟议的 20 年 1.26 亿英镑 计划进行改造。

下图，上周在克拉克顿度假的一名游客，在周四将不得不与国家媒体共用街道。

—— 变成一场闹剧。 “那些处于贫困中投票给改革英国党（Reform UK）的人，并不是因为他们贫困才这么做。他们投票是为了获得一种感觉，觉得自己的声音被听到了。”他提出的解决方案是比例代表制和更多的权力下放，这些政策得到了新任首相安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）的支持。这在工党总部可能行得通，但对于杰威克来说，这些方案无疑过于理想化了，这里的许多当地人早已对政治失去了兴趣，并在其他地方寻找意义。当一盏路灯七年没被修理时，一场涉及“咆哮的劳德·霍普”（Howling Laud Hope）、“不可思议的飞行砖块尼克”（Nick the Incredible Flying Brick）、“宾脸伯爵”（Count Binface）和奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）的补选，不太可能提供太多帮助。

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14 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 新闻

威德科姆警方重启法拉奇住所“纵火企图”案卷

凯瑟琳·尼兰（Catherine Neilan） 白厅编辑

作为对前议员安·威德科姆（Ann Widdecombe）之死调查的一部分，反恐警察已重启一项针对奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）伦敦南部房产企图盗窃案的调查。该事件于 2025, 4 月向警方报案，并在今年早些时候被曝光，当时改革英国党（Reform UK）领导人声称其住所遭到了“彻头彻尾的纵火企图”，且报纸报道称其遭到了“汽油弹袭击”。

《观察者报》确认，警方此前将此案视为企图盗窃，尽管没有财物被盗。一个纵火装置造成了一扇门受损。该调查在未逮捕任何人的情况下结案。

周五，国家反恐警察高级协调员维基·埃文斯（Vicki Evans）表示，在威德科姆被杀后，团队“发现了一条当时未被识别且未被追踪的调查线索，这可能具有相关性”。该警队还已将自身情况提交给独立警察行为监察局（IOPC）监管机构。

Arday丑闻将出版商推向风口浪尖

一名被指控剽窃和造假的学者，其回忆录仍将于本月发售。业内人士称，该行业存在事实核查问题。 Lily Isaacs

尽管杰森·阿尔代（Jason Arday）的学术作品中剽窃指控日益增加，且其职业生涯和个人经历受到质疑，但他的回忆录《伟大而不幸之事》（Great and Unfortunate Things）仍将于本月晚些时候出版。这部由西蒙与舒斯特（Simon & Schuster）出版的回忆录，讲述了阿尔代的生活故事：他出身于伦敦南部一个市政住宅区的男孩，三岁时被诊断出患有自闭症和全球发育迟缓，童年大部分时间无法用语言交流。尽管面临这些挑战，他仍成为了剑桥大学历史上最年轻的黑人教授。

然而，其回忆录及职业生涯中陈述的真实性受到了审查，阿尔代已于上周三辞职。今年7月，自称“种族现实主义者”的学者内森·科夫纳斯（Nathan Cofnas）指控阿尔代剽窃；《电讯报》（Telegraph）随后报道称，阿尔代的博士论文中包含100多处与六年前发表的一篇论文相似的段落。阿尔代否认剽窃。授予其博士学位的利物浦约翰摩尔大学去年对这些指控进行了调查并予以驳回。阿尔代告诉《泰晤士报》（Times），他对所犯的任何错误“负责”，但他“不是骗子”。剑桥大学已对其学术资格和荣誉职位的“新信息”启动调查。

关于他对自己生活和成就的公开陈述也引发了质疑，包括他为慈善机构筹集了多少资金，以及关于遭受种族主义虐待的说法。阿尔代否认了伪造人生故事的指控。其回忆录的部分内容也遭到质疑。书的开头描述了在巴西担任志愿者的经历，而西蒙与舒斯特网站上的阿尔代简介称，这次经历是由WaterAid促成的。该慈善机构随后告诉《电讯报》，他们不向海外派遣志愿者。

业内人士表示，他们对出版商仍决定发行该书并不感到惊讶。“在写回忆录时，很多东西是基于信任的，”2023年凭借《 Stirrings》一书获得TLS Ackerley奖的凯瑟琳·泰勒（Catherine Taylor）说道，“我书中关于个人经历的内容从未被事实核查过。”泰勒表示，如果一本书没有引起律师的警觉，那么就不会进行任何调查。《观察者报》关于《盐径》（The Salt Path）的报道表明，出版商并不一定被要求核实回忆录的真实性。

亚历山德拉·普林格（Alexandra Pringle）曾作为布鲁姆斯伯里（Bloomsbury）的总编辑出版过伊丽莎白·吉尔伯特（Elizabeth Gilbert）的《美食、祈祷和爱》（Eat Pray Love）以及安东尼·波登（Anthony Bourdain）的《厨房机密》（Kitchen Confidential）等回忆录，她表示，“支持自己的作者是出版商的职责”，且近期“出版商太容易为了脱身而牺牲作者”。她提到了2021年引发的一场风波，当时批评者指责诗人凯特·克兰西（Kate Clancy）在她的回忆录《我教过的一些孩子以及他们教会我的事》（Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me）中使用了“种族主义和能力歧视”的陈词滥调。Picador出版社随后停止出版她的书籍。

研究剽窃问题的学者罗杰·克鲁兹（Roger Kreuz）表示，像针对阿尔代这样的指控在学术界比许多人意识到的更为普遍。“这几乎从未被公开，因为没有人从中受益，”他说。他指出，改变之处在于，剽窃指控现在正成为一种“政治武器”，并以哈佛大学校长克劳丁·盖伊（Claudine Gay）在2024年辞职为例。“也许你是个不忠的配偶，也许你踢你的狗，人们可以原谅这些，但涉及到剽窃，那是你绝对不能逾越的底线，”他说。

一位资深图书编辑怀疑，出版商之所以在对阿尔代（Arday）的回忆录进行尽职调查时有所疏忽，是因为他是个“明星”。“他是剑桥大学的一位黑人教授。他长得英俊。他又年轻。他具备了所有条件，”该编辑表示。出版名单如此“苍白且陈旧”，以至于这位编辑怀疑“每个人都只是觉得，噢太棒了，这解决了问题，因为我们的黑人作者不够多。”出版商不愿投资于导致缺乏多样性的结构性问题，而只是希望“这些奇迹般的人出现……他是公关之梦。嗯，他曾经是。”已联系阿尔代教授和西蒙与舒斯特出版社（Simon & Schuster）寻求评论。

其他页面

赞美 Arday 并不能解决黑人学者面临的种族主义问题 Kenan Malik，论坛，第 28 页

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新闻 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 15

从左起顺时针方向：1983 年巴黎，男孩们在观看 Raleigh 店铺的橱窗展示；1976 年的一辆 Raleigh Grifter 自行车；模特 Susan Saver 在 1971 年骑一辆 Chopper 自行车；1987 年以其赞助商（一个香蕉进口商财团）命名的 Raleigh-Banana 专业自行车队。图片来源：Jean-Erick Pasquier / Gamma-Raphy via Getty Images, SSPL, Metropix, PA / Klainy

Chopper之父与百万次童年冒险，Raleigh骑向日落

在骑行139年后，这家来自中英格兰的自行车制造商正面临可能的关闭。Chris Marshall-Bell 记录这一文化偶像的起伏历程。

对于在 1970 年代和 1980 年代成长起来的英国人来说，Raleigh 是骑行的代名词。如果你没有一辆 Raleigh Chopper，你真的拥有过自行车吗？因此，对于好几代人来说，一个令人深感悲伤的消息是，这家曾经全球最大的自行车制造商已被 Accell Group 申请破产管理，在经营 139 年后可能面临关闭。

这家诺丁汉公司成立于 1887 年，在 20 世纪的大部分时间里是一个真正的英国成功故事：它在 1930 年代生产三轮车，随后演变为 Reliant Robin；第二次世界大战后，其自行车工厂雇佣了约 8,000 人，能够制造自行车的每一个零部件。在 1960 年代中期， 占据了国内三分之二的市场份额，几年后，其三速 Chopper 上市，立即成为了一个文化偶像。受哈雷戴维森摩托车的启发，它长而柔软的鞍座靠在背杆上，而“猿猴把手”（ape-hanger）和不同尺寸的轮圈则增添了其非典型的外观。超过 150 万 辆 Chopper 被售出，如今它已成为备受追捧的收藏品。其他型号——如 Vektar、Burner 和 Grifter——让品牌保持了影响力，但没有一个能与 Chopper 的持久人气相媲美，后者在 2023 年重新发行。

然而，到那时， 的衰落已经持续了数十年。其诺丁汉工厂于 2002 年关闭，生产转移到亚洲，在中英格兰仅保留了一间办公室。2012 年， 被 Accell 以 1亿美元 收购，10 年后，美国私募股权公司 KKR 花费 12亿英镑 收购了 Accell 旗下的众多品牌。但衰败仍在继续：2023 年， 报告的税前亏损为 3010 万英镑。面对来自中国廉价大规模自行车生产的竞争，债权人无法挽救该公司或许并不令人惊讶。

但怀旧之情和美好回忆依然存在——而且不仅仅是通过 Chopper。当英国在 1973 年加入欧洲共同市场时， 寻求在欧洲大陆站稳脚跟。最有效且最合理的营销策略就是组建一支职业自行车队。公司高管们当时无法预见，身着著名的红、黄、黑三色球衣的 TI- 在接下来的十年里会变得多么强势且具有革命性。在荷兰人 Peter Post 的带领下，这支在荷兰注册但由英国支持的车队摒弃了自行车运动中“单一领袖”的传统，转而利用一种“多名获胜者”的文化。

从 1972 年到 1983 年，该车队累计获得了 900 场以上的胜利，包括两届公路赛世界锦标赛冠军。此外，通过 Joop Zoetemelk，他们还赢得了环法赛的分站赛以及 1980 年环法赛梦寐以求的黄色领骑衫。受阿贾克斯（Ajax）和荷兰“全方位足球”的启发，Post 创造了“全方位骑行”的概念。

“红、黑、黄的配色在严肃的竞技骑行者眼中提升了 的可信度，”2013 年至 2017 年担任国际自行车联盟主席的 Brian Cookson 表示，“它从一个生产非常成功的儿童自行车的品牌，变成了一个在竞技世界中具有巨大影响力的品牌。”

即使在无往不利的 TI- 车队解散后， 依然在国内外车群中保持存在：-Weinmann（后更名为 -Banana）是一支从 1984 年起活跃的英国职业车队，参加牛奶赛（Milk Race）和著名的比利时春季经典赛。他们在 1990 年代中期消失，但另一支冠以 之名的英国车队在 2010 年至 2017 年间参加比赛。

“对于年长的一代，随便在街上问任何人说出一个自行车品牌，他们会说 ，”前英国冠军 Malcolm Elliot 表示，他

曾为 Raleigh-Weinmann 车队效力两个赛季。“能以一个与骑行及骑行工业等同的品牌开启职业生涯是一件令人自豪的事。人们知道，如果你为 Raleigh 效力，那一定是一件大事。”蒂姆·哈里斯（Tim Harris）在 1989 年代表 -Banana 赢得了英国国家锦标赛，这是他与该品牌终身关系的顶峰。“我九岁的时候，任何酷孩子都有一辆 Chopper。它在《Blue Peter》节目中到处可见，每个人都想要它。骑起来很糟糕——被钢材压得很重——但它超级酷；就像一辆脚踏摩托车，”哈里斯说。“后来当我开始接触比赛时，TI- 是一支规模极其巨大的英国车队。-Banana 虽然没达到那个水平，但我们预算充足——我们的薪水和环法车手一样多——而且我们有国际赛事计划，”他说。“每位车手都会去 工厂领取自己的定制自行车，他们会在底部盖上车手的姓名首字母缩写。那辆车我还留着。为这样一个标志性的著名品牌效力并骑行其产品，那是段美好的时光。”

“债务、私募股权与新冠：轮毂中的辐条” 观点 本·扎兰科（Ben Zaranko） 经济编辑

“企业收购”和“畅销书”这两个词通常不会出现在一起。但布莱恩·伯罗（Bryan Burrough）和约翰·海利尔（John Helyar）的《门口的野蛮人》（Barbarians at the Gate，1989）记录了美国烟草和食品巨头 RJR Nabisco 戏剧性的私募股权收购案，该书曾登顶排行榜，至今仍是商业经典。

RJR Nabisco 的竞购战由 KKR 赢得。这家纽约投资公司开创了“杠杆收购”模式，即投资者通过大量借款购买目标公司，将债务加载到该公司的资产负债表上，并利用其现金流来偿还债务。为了应对沉重的贷款偿还压力，买家通常会激进地削减成本、解雇员工并出售资产，这使其极具争议。

KKR 依然存在，依然在进行交易。2022 年，它领导了一个财团以 18亿欧元 收购了总部位于阿姆斯特丹的 及其其他多个骑行品牌的所有者 Accell。但到 2023 年中期，Accell 及其组成部分已经陷入困境，需要新的贷款。今年二月，在几次债务减记未能挽救局面后，情况达到了临界点。KKR 同意将其剩余的股权交给这家荷兰公司的贷款方，接受超过 10亿欧元 的损失。

现在，六个月后， 已申请暂停支付，这是荷兰的一种破产形式。这家自行车制造商的崩溃反映了其私募股权所有者的一次糟糕赌注——这是私募股权业务中的一种职业风险。

KKR 的财团在疫情期间收购了 ，当时骑行运动正处于繁荣期且利率较低。在新冠疫情前几年的需求激增推动下，该公司大幅转向高价值的电动自行车和货运自行车。但随后电动自行车的销量开始下降，利率开始上升。 不仅背负债务，而且在疫情骑行热潮顶峰期间过度订货导致库存过剩，无法应对局面。供应链中断和董事会的频繁变动也未能提供帮助。

接下来会发生什么尚不明确。不过，这似乎不太可能是最后一桩在疫情期间失败的赌注。

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16 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 新闻

“我不想回去”：青少年强奸案审理凸显两次作证带来的创伤

艾比盖尔在被一名15岁男孩强奸时年仅13岁。该男孩在青少年法庭被裁定有罪，但他的上诉迫使艾比盖尔和其他两名受害者不得不第二次讲述她们的痛苦经历。随着儿童间性暴力的增加，活动人士呼吁紧急改革司法系统以保护青少年。Preeti Jha 报道

morrisons.com 大多数门店。不包括 Morrisons Daily。在线商店。慈善机构注册号 207996（英格兰和威尔士）。SC018718（苏格兰）。条款与条件。my.morrisons.com / marie-curie-eight-tc

当13岁的艾比盖尔得知她需要第二次在法庭上作证时，她沮丧地哭了起来。第一次作证让她身体不适且无法入睡。但在强奸她的那个青少年男孩对其定罪提出上诉后，她被迫面对在新的听证会上再次讲述该罪行的前景。

这名女学生去年在 Snapchat 上首次结识了这名15岁的罪犯（由于报道限制，其姓名不能公开）。他们是通过朋友介绍认识的，不久后便见面了，当时他们在一小群人中坐在户外，用手机播放音乐。

当艾比盖尔（并非真名）同意在一个阳光明媚的六月下午在同一地点再次与他单独见面时，她以为会发生类似的事情。然而，罪犯将她带到附近的一片空地并强奸了她，导致她出血，手臂和腿上留下瘀伤。

艾比盖尔花了四天时间才向母亲透露这次袭击，她后来表示这次袭击让她“崩溃”了。她们第二天去了警察局。

当调查警官听取艾比盖尔的陈述时，他注意到这与另外两名女孩（分别年仅16岁和15岁）最近的陈述有相似之处，这两名女孩在几个月前曾报告在该地区发生了单独的强奸事件。

在艾比盖尔通过数字排队认人准确识别出罪犯后，警官意识到这就是他已经在调查的同一个人。这名青少年此前因两起早先的罪行被保释，在艾比盖尔报案后，于7月初再次被埃塞克斯警方逮捕。

一周后，英国皇家检察署（CPS）对他提起三起独立的诉讼，随后这些案件在青少年法庭进行了一次统一审理。青少年法庭是一种专门针对10至17岁被告的治安法庭。

与被指控强奸的成年人不同（如果成年人辩称无罪，必须在刑事法院由陪审团审理），绝大多数儿童被告首先在青少年法庭由地区法官审理，即使是像强奸这样严重的罪行也是如此。

在青少年法庭中，与所有治安法庭一样，被告拥有自动上诉定罪或判决的权利。其支持者认为这是防止冤假错案的重要缓冲。

但当涉及儿童被告的强奸案审理时，该制度一个鲜为人知的结果是，当案件在刑事法院再次审理时，受害者和青少年被告可能都不得不第二次作证。

截至今年3月的一年数据中，司法部（MoJ）的数据显示，青少年法庭处理了186名被指控强奸的18岁以下被告，高于前一年的150名。

艾比盖尔作证的埃塞克斯审判于去年年底持续了五天。轮到她时，她通过独立房间的实时视频链接发言，这样她就不必面对袭击者。

上个月在家里接受采访时，艾比盖尔说在法庭上讲述强奸经历是她做过最困难的事情。另外两名受害者也通过实时视频链接作证。

法官裁定被告（当时16岁）三项强奸罪和一项侵入性袭击罪成立，但这三名女孩几乎没有时间消化这个裁决：罪犯在不久后提出了上诉，这意味着案件将再次审理，而这一次是在级别更高的刑事法院。

艾比盖尔从未见过或与另外两名受害者交谈过——在埃塞克斯警方建立联系之前，她们彼此并不相识——但一种心照不宣的团结感已经产生。在被告知需要重新审理时，艾比盖尔描述了她面前痛苦的选择。“我不知道该怎么办。我不知道是否要回到那里，”她说。“但随后我不想让其他女孩失望，我想坚强起来。所以我回去了并面对这一切，因为我想获得公正。”

在英格兰和威尔士，警方记录的儿童对儿童性犯罪数量的上升正引发日益增长的担忧。英国国家警察首长委员会（National Police Chiefs' Council）的分析显示，在已知嫌疑人年龄的儿童性虐待和剥削犯罪中，儿童目前约占所有嫌疑人的半数。从历史上看，儿童对儿童的虐待约占此类犯罪的三分之一，这凸显了增长的规模。

专家指出，厌女态度和广泛传播的色情制品如何塑造了一些年轻人对关系、同意和性行为的理解。“有害观念正以惊人的速度常态化，而我们的预防工作未能跟上这一挑战的规模 —— 44 News observer.co.uk 09.08.26 17

，”伦敦受害者专员安德里亚·西蒙（Andrea Simon）表示。

儿童性虐待专业中心（Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse）的莎伦·韦勒姆（Sharron Wareham）表示，报告的性犯罪数量增加也可能与年轻人对什么构成犯罪的“意识提高”有关。她作为一名社会工作者的自身经验表明，许多表现出有害性行为的儿童本身就有被虐待的历史。

政府一直在倾听。在三月份的一份报告中，青少年司法委员会（Youth Justice Board）指出，厌女症以及童年创伤是如何推动线上和线下针对妇女和女孩的暴力的。一名司法部（MoJ）发言人告诉《观察者报》：“我们对儿童对儿童的性暴力深感担忧……针对妇女和女孩的暴力是一场流行病，我们正将其视作流行病来对待。”

在报告的儿童对儿童性暴力增加之际，青少年法院系统正受到更严格的审查。今年早些时候，在汉普郡的一起案件中，三名青少年被判定在分别发生的事件中强奸并拍摄两名年轻受害者，但他们被判处非监禁刑，这引发了全国性的抗议。这些判决最终经过审查，其中两起案件被增加至四年拘留。

像艾比盖尔这样的强奸幸存者必须再次提供证词，这令青少年司法系统感到担忧。罗温·布鲁克斯（Rowan Brooks）是一名注册中介，负责帮助脆弱的受害者在审判期间提供证词，他亲眼目睹了“这对儿童来说可能是多么具有创伤性

“有害观念正以惊人的速度被正常化，而我们的预防工作未能跟上这一挑战的规模，”伦敦受害者专员安德里亚·西蒙斯（Andrea Simons）表示。对于那些遭受过性暴力的受害者来说，必须再次就该事件提供证词。他表示，这不仅影响他们的身心健康，还会影响他们提供证词的质量。英格兰和威尔士受害者专员克莱尔·瓦克斯曼（Claire Waxman）告诉《观察者报》，“儿童受害者不应承担我们司法系统中可避免的缺陷所带来的负担”。她补充道：“当有证明有效的方法可以让儿童免于多次经历那种折磨时，我们就应该采用这些方法。”

一项措施已被证明能减轻提供证词带来的创伤。继2013年的试点之后，自2022年起，《青少年司法与刑事证据法》第28条允许刑事法院（crown courts）中的弱势受害者和证人在审判前预录其交叉质询。但在治安法院（magistrates' courts），包括青少年法院在内，无法使用这一机制。

目前尚不清楚在青少年法院审理的强奸案中究竟有多少案件被上诉。来自司法部（MoJ）的一份信息自由响应称，该部门不掌握此项信息。然而，已知去年约有6,000件治安法院的裁决被上诉至刑事法院。在青少年法院工作的刑事律师告诉《观察者报》，上诉的情况很少见，尤其是因为被告在刑事法院面临更严厉判决的风险。但由于截至2024年底，记录在案的强奸案中被起诉的比例不足3%，且案件流失率很高，因此上诉数量自然很少。

政府似乎意识到了改善受害者体验并加强整体系统的必要性：2022年9月，利兹青少年法院启动了一项关于使用第28条的试点计划，旨在确保受害者和证人在犯罪发生后尽可能早地接受询问，且仅询问一次。司法部确认，这项于4月结束的试点意味着，如果案件被上诉，证人无需重复提供证词。当被问及扩大试点计划或以其他方式解决两次提供证词的问题时，一名司法部发言人表示：“我们正寻求改革治安法院的上诉程序，这将减少不必要的听证会，从而使受害者不必通过再次提供证词而被迫重新经历创伤。”

瓦克斯曼以及来自“英格兰和威尔士强奸危机中心”（Rape Crisis England & Wales）的阿米莉亚·汉迪（Amelia Handy）都在呼吁，在审判前允许青少年法院中的性犯罪受害者进行预录交叉质询。“我们非常担心强奸案中儿童受害者必须提供两次证词的要求，”汉迪说。这“可能会增加他们完全退出起诉的机会”，并可能导致“证词被认为存在不一致，最终削弱起诉工作”。

今年春天，阿比盖尔（Abigail）准备第二次就她一直试图忘记的那次袭击提供证词。当时她正处于夏季学期之中，发现很难集中注意力。“我简直每天都在恳求爸爸让我请假，”她说，“在学校里，周围所有人让我感到压力巨大。”坐在她身边的父亲回忆起她在家中的痛苦。“她对我哭，晚上对我哭。那段时间很艰难，”他说。

在刑事法院重新审理的三天前，阿比盖尔根据《青少年司法与刑事证据法》第28条，通过法庭实时链接预录了她的交叉质询。那些要求受害者讲述袭击精确细节的问题，与青少年法院审判时提出的问题几乎完全一样。但预先知道将面对什么反而让她更加焦虑。“我觉得压力真的很大，因为我必须再次经历一遍，”她说。

在为期三天的上诉审理中，一名法官和两名治安法官观看了警方对三名女孩分别进行的视频采访，以及新录制的交叉质询。他们还听取了犯罪者的陈述，后者在证人席上提供了证据。他们听到了他是如何利用Snapchat在几天前与每位受害者交谈

插画由 Marine Buffard 绘制

在袭击发生前的几周里。他们听到了每个女孩如何拒绝他关于性行为是自愿的说法，每个人都详细描述了她们如何反复要求他停止。在艾比盖尔（Abigail）的案例中，闭路电视（CCTV）画面显示被告将她引导至强奸发生地点。艾比盖尔和她的父亲希望通过讲述她的经历，能够改善刑事司法系统。“为什么第一次没有录像？”她的父亲在谈到交叉质询时问道。“那样就不用让她再次经历这一切。我也为其他女孩感到难过。看着我的女儿在深夜一直哭泣，令人心碎。‘你必须回去。全部重新来一遍。看着她走进那个房间。’这很难，非常难。”艾比盖尔在他说这话时点了点头。“让第一次就录像，这样其他人就不用经历第二次，”她说。

在结案陈词中，负责起诉的律师描述了被告袭击行为的“升级”，以及他如何“在试探自己能逃脱惩罚的极限”。他还将三名受害者两次分享经历的勇气描述为“英雄之举”。在第三天也是最后一天，法院驳回了上诉。

在上周的量刑听证会上，检察官宣读了两名女孩以及每位受害者母亲的证人陈述。“不得不重新经历发生的一切摧毁了我，”这名 16 岁的受害者写道。但她后来也觉得她“需要再次提供证据，以便人们能够安全”。在庭上的 15 岁受害者的母亲在陈述中描述了她的女儿在被告上诉后几乎决定退出，因为第一次提供证据的经历极其“痛苦”。三位母亲都描述了她们的女儿如何发生了变化，感到不安全，并且现在害怕单独外出。

在请求减轻处罚的辩论期间，法院听到了关于被告与参与犯罪活动的同龄人交往的情况。“这些事情并非在真空状态下发生的，”辩护律师阿尔弗雷德·安德伍德（Alfred Underwood）说道，他指出同龄人以及互联网在促进一种“特权感”和“对女性缺乏共情”方面所起的作用。

这名现在 17 岁的被告被判处八年半监禁。在刑期结束之后，他还必须在延长许可下接受为期两年的社区监督。艾比盖尔和她的家人没有参加量刑听证会，他们选择通过电话从警方处获知结果。她的父亲表示，他们正专注于重建生活。上个月当被问及会对其他青少年强奸幸存者说什么时，艾比盖尔说：“寻求正义，保持坚强。就保持坚强。继续战斗。”

本故事中强奸幸存者的姓名已做更改 --- 18 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 新闻

在伦敦摄政公园（Regent's Park）散步时，这位畅销书作家与瑞秋·西尔维斯特（Rachel Sylvester）探讨了穿着高跟鞋走钢丝、为什么年轻的心灵值得拥有最好的文学，以及她 10 岁的养姐之死教会了她什么。

观察者报漫步

凯瑟琳·朗德尔（Katherine Rundell）

“我想让我的书告诉读者：你的恐惧是正确的。但即便如此，也要勇敢”

我在伦敦最高点之一的普里姆罗斯山（Primrose Hill）顶端见到了凯瑟琳·朗德尔（Katherine Rundell）。从这里可以俯瞰首都北部的壮丽景色，远眺最著名的地标，从伦敦眼和议会大厦到碎片大厦和金丝雀码头。山脚下是伦敦动物园，那里有巨大的鸟舍和粗犷主义风格的大象馆。这位畅销书作家曾攀爬过牛津大学的屋顶，登顶过巴特西发电站，精通飞梯，尝试过跳伞，还驾驶过小型飞机，她一直热爱这种身处世界之巅的感觉。或者，也许她只是喜欢挑战。

“事实上，我有点恐高，”她说，“我发现身处高处的非凡美感和快感远远超过了恐惧，但恐惧感从未消失。”

朗德尔有着精灵般精致的面容和长长的黑发，给人一种略带超凡脱俗的感觉，她似乎在尝试实现不可能之事的过程中获得动力。21岁时，她通过撰写一篇关于法国哲学家雅克·德里达（Jacques Derrida）和圣诞拉炮的三小时论文，成为了牛津大学万灵学院（All Souls College）最年轻的女性研究员。当她进入这座牛津大学最高端、最学术的学院时，她在房间里拉起了一根钢丝绳，并自学如何穿着高跟鞋在上面行走。

“那是橙色的，”她说，“你得用脚尖学习。鞋跟永远不会接触钢丝——只是看起来像接触到了——所以这其实是个技巧。”

她的屋顶攀爬冒险行为违反了学院规定，但却启发了她那部获奖的儿童文学作品《屋顶上的孩子》（Rooftoppers）。随后，她将关于诗人约翰·多恩（John Donne）的论文改编成了畅销传记《超级无限》（Super-Infinite），并凭借此书获得了贝利·吉福德非虚构类文学奖（Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction）。她将£5万,000的奖金捐给了环保和难民慈善机构。

39岁时，朗德尔已出版了十几本书。她的《不可能的生物》（Impossible Creatures）系列——讲述魔法岛屿和神话生物的故事——使她成为继J.K.罗琳之后，首位同时登顶英国和美国儿童图书排行榜的英国作家。女王已承诺向所有6年级的孩子赠送一本该书，迪士尼则支付了七位数的金额购买电影版权。

朗德尔正在亲自撰写剧本。

“我很享受这个过程，”她说。

摄影：汤姆·皮尔斯顿（Tom Pilston）

“这是一个媒介转换的问题：你得将一个能让你近距离接触人物内心想法的媒介，转化为一个寓意和含义必须通过视觉和声音来呈现的媒介。这完全是两回事。”

该系列的第三本书《永不之四》（The Neverfour）于本月出版。未来三年还将推出另外两本。

“这个故事一共五本，”朗德尔说，“我已经写好了结局。我很清楚我要去哪里，但还不知道具体怎么走。”

当我们走下山坡，经过公园里大片枯黄的草地时，我问她为什么为儿童而非成人写作。

“儿童是最具想象力和智力灵活性读者，”她说，“我想为儿童写作的部分原因在于，我认为儿童文学是想象力可以最自由、最无界限地运作的空间；同时我也相信，孩子们理应得到我们能给予他们的最好的东西。”

“他们才是那些需要我们倾注最大心血、最敏锐的思想和最精彩的笑话的人，而且他们对思想、真理和清晰度的渴望也最为强烈。我希望我的儿童书是我作品中的最高水准。”

马丁·艾米斯（Martin Amis）曾说过他

除非脑部受损，否则他绝不会尝试写儿童小说，但伦德尔表示，这是她从事的最具挑战性的写作形式。“它需要想象力的持续严谨，并且要关注成长中的年轻心灵需要什么。”她坚持认为儿童文学也可以成为伟大的文学。“就像所有其他艺术形式一样，总会有大量不值得保存的作品，但也有《姆明》、 《长袜子皮皮》和《爱丽丝梦游仙境》。还有《北极光》。”她说，《格鲁法罗》是一部“天才之作”。而她童年时期的“定义之书”是C.S.路易斯的《狮子、女巫和魔衣橱》。“我知道纳尼亚并不存在，因为我理解虚构的概念，但我仍然认为存在这种可能性。我确实检查过那个衣橱以防万一，因为它感觉如此真实，以至于那种可能性就在那里——触手可及。”罗琳则更具争议。“我小时候很喜欢（《哈利·波特》）系列丛书，但困难之处在于，由于她的政治立场，英国几乎所有关于儿童小说的讨论都围绕着J.K.罗琳及其政治观点展开。”伦德尔说，一本儿童书应该给年轻人带来的“不仅是快乐，更是力量”。“我希望我们能讨论读写能力与民主之间的关系，以及这样一个观点：在未来的岁月里，我们需要能够构建长篇且复杂的论点，因为面对一群拥有前所未有、难以计数财富的人，我们需要前所未有、难以计数的智力财富，才能保护我们的自由和彼此。”我们穿过马路进入摄政公园，走过空荡荡的板球场。伦德尔担心教育已变得如此依赖记忆和考试，以至于孩子们被剥夺了使用想象力的兴趣。“我去了很多学校，很多老师反映，在这样一个将测试置于体验之上的课程体系中，很难在孩子的一天中注入学习的乐趣。这个系统确实需要重新思考。”她说，儿童是“地球上韧性最强的人群之一，但我们利用了这一点”。“我们对年轻人整天盯着手机感到绝望，但他们能去哪里呢？孩子无法建造一个游乐场、一个休闲中心或一片开放空间。我们必须为他们建造。”我们沿着与动物园平行的路径行走。天气太热，猴子们没有在户外，老虎躲在灌木丛中。骆驼从围栏中窥视。“现在是夏天，所以它们在脱掉冬天的皮毛——大片大片地脱落——结果它们脖子周围像戴了一圈围脖，就像穿着皮草大衣、傲慢地俯视我们的遗孀公爵夫人，”伦德尔说。“如果骆驼不存在，而是神话生物，而且有人解释说它们可以靠自己驼峰上的脂肪生存，且它们的脚如此宽大，以至于能走在人类会陷到膝盖深处的沙地上，我们会认为这不可信。”

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新闻 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 19

“我们对年轻人整天盯着手机感到绝望，但他们能去哪里呢”：凯瑟琳·伦德尔。

她书中的那些不可思议的生物全部基于细致的研究。她花费数小时搜寻野兽百科全书、中世纪手稿和文艺复兴时期的文本。“我向孩子们保证的一点是，我从不虚构新生物，”她说。“我的笔记本电脑里有一个数据库，其中有数百种生物，每一种生物旁边都附有我找到的所有参考资料。我的手机里充满了我在巴斯街头看到的格里芬，或者在威尼斯锻铁装饰中看到的海马的照片。”

她最喜欢的神话生物是微小的雅库鲁斯龙（jaculus dragon）。“我在公元70年的普林尼《自然史》中发现了它，那本书里既有非常严肃且准确的生物描述，也有一些极其疯狂的描述。普林尼声称，刺猬为了喂养幼崽，会在掉落的苹果中打滚直到全身被覆盖，然后跑回树上的洞穴。”当我们绕过公园的Ready Money饮水喷泉时，朗德尔（Rundell）坚持认为她不希望自己的书带有说教意味。“给孩子讲一个故事却只给他们一个寓意，这是极大的失礼，也是对其他孩子的背叛，”她说。但她的小说确实拥有价值观和目的。“所有被写出来的书都有其道德观，我的感觉是，小说可以成为孩子们探索想法的地方。”“《不可能的生物》（Impossible Creatures）绝对是在意识到气候危机的背景下写成的。它讲述了一个处于危险之中的美丽世界。当然，我们正处于将许多生物变成神话和传说素材的边缘……因此，这本书在某种程度上是在探讨‘太迟了’这种观念。”在欧洲经历了数月的热浪和山火之后，她说这个夏天是“我人生中最恐怖的”，但她认为绝望与自满一样危险。“说‘我们都将坐着手推车下地狱’的困难之处在于，它给了我们一种自由，让我们表现得好像已经身处其中一样。没有人能拯救一切。但每个人都能拯救一些东西。改变仍然是可能的。对于‘什么时候该放弃？’这个问题的答案是：永远不要。”我们来到了伊丽莎白二世女王花园；睡莲漂浮在池塘上。朗德尔在津巴布韦长大，周围环绕着自然。学校中午放学，她就赤脚跑来跑去，爬树、观察蜥蜴、追逐猴子。水池里有水蝎。她的母亲是一位法语讲师，父亲从事国际发展工作，他们会给她讲关于半人马和巨龙的故事。当她10岁时，她的养姐艾莉森（Alison）因遗传疾病在16岁时去世。“那是我人生中经历过的最大的悲痛，至今依然如此，”朗德尔说。“它教会了我一些其他人稍晚才会意识到的关于世界的道理。我想我更早地接触到了这些真相——你愿意为某人死去是因为你爱他们，但这并不意味着他们不会死去；或者当你爱一个人而他们不再在这里时，你该如何处理这份爱？这是任何爱过的人都必须面对的问题。”她不停地阅读，为了寻求安慰，也为了逃避。“我想当时拯救我的是我从那些书中感受到的爱。”她自己的小说中也交织着黑暗与丧失。“G.K. 切斯特顿（GK Chesterton）说过，我们阅读童话不是为了知道巨龙存在，而是为了知道巨龙可以被击败，”她说。“你知道童话会唤起每一种形式的暴力、权力的滥用以及人类的残酷，是为了告诉人们，这里有一种英雄主义的乐观精神，它将证明自己比那些东西更强大。”

“小说可以成为孩子们探索想法的地方” 我询问她是否至少在潜意识里，现在是在为那些处于她姐姐去世时相同年龄的孩子们写作。“我想写那些能让孩子阅读的书，让他们感觉到自己的勇气和爱是有价值的，”她回答道。“有些孩子在极端时刻需要知道这一点，而有些孩子可能只是在某个周二就需要知道，因为做一个孩子是非常困难的。我希望我的书能告诉他们：感到害怕是对的。但即便如此，也要勇敢。”她给自己设定了创造一个孩子们可以逃避其中的幻想世界的挑战，这也许并非巧合。“我写儿童书是因为我姐姐去世时我恰好也是那个年龄吗？这绝对没有那么简单。”“这不会是那么直接的因果关系。但这是否是决定我写作面向年龄的原因之一？当然，一定有。但这也仅仅是我热爱的一种文学形式。”《The Neverfear》将于 8 月 27 日由 Bloomsbury 出版 --- 世界 “黎明正处于从媒体大亨到囚犯，以及现在成为政治殉道者这一旅程的最后阶段” → Danny Vincent，香港，第 22 页

“人河”：塞乌塔涌入潮如何撕裂欧洲并 emboldened 右翼

社交媒体上关于西班牙边境开放的虚假主张，吸引了数千名生活困苦的摩洛哥人前来尝试运气。驻塞乌塔记者伊莎贝尔·科尔斯（Isabel Coles）报道，这仅仅是政治危机的开始。

乌迈玛·埃拉齐齐（Umaima Elazizi）在丹吉尔家中时看到了社交媒体上的帖子。像她一样的摩洛哥年轻人，在游到西班牙后对着镜头比出 V 字手势。有人发帖称，你只需要一件潜水服和潜水蹼。另一些人则声称，西班牙放宽了对边境的控制。这位 21 岁的女孩从小就梦想住在欧洲，但现在看来如此简单——甚至可能很有趣。“为什么不去呢？”埃拉齐齐自言自语道，“我为什么要留在这里？”在摩洛哥，她在接受护士培训后，面临着寻找工作的艰辛。两天后，埃拉齐齐与三名朋友一起打车，加入了冲向欧洲仅有的两个与非洲陆路边境之一的人潮。

艾尤布·萨尔哈尼（Ayyub Sarhani）在 30 July 于丹吉尔工作时打开了 Facebook，看到了声称与西班牙边境开放的帖子。那天是发薪日，但这位 21 岁的电工在没领工资的情况下就匆匆离开了。“我没有犹豫，”他告诉《观察者报》。萨尔哈尼之前尝试过抵达塞乌塔。有一次，在他 17, 岁时，他成功抵达，但随后被遣返回摩洛哥。另一次，他被西班牙国民卫队拦截。现在，这是一个获得更好未来的新机会——萨尔哈尼不想错过它。

萨莱赫·巴库尔（Saleh Bakour）在睡觉时，一名亲戚在 30 July 早上 6 点打电话告诉他边境开放了。这位 15 岁的少年在没告诉父母的情况下离开，从巴布贝尔德（Bab Berred）乘车前往海岸。从那里，他步行 33 公里（20 英里）到达边境。其他人来自非斯、卡萨布兰卡和赫尼夫拉，汇聚在靠近西班牙微小飞地塞乌塔边境的一个小镇。

7万,000 人涌向边境的视频在社交媒体上迅速传播，在整个欧洲引发了一场政治风暴，并被

士兵于 3 August 在塞乌塔护送抵达者前往与摩洛哥的边境（照片：Ivan Zambrano / Europa Press, SA）政治右翼热切地将其武器化。在线虚假信息如此轻易地触发如此规模的大规模移民，加剧了政治紧张局势，并引发了人们对重复发生的恐惧。

当数千名摩洛哥人抵达塞乌塔边境时，这场骚动传到了躲在附近夫尼德克（Fnideq）上方森林里的两名苏丹男子耳中。“我们听到了摩洛哥人的喊叫，” 29 岁的阿卜杜勒萨拉姆·阿卜杜拉（Abdelsalam Abdullah）说。这两位朋友曾多次尝试翻越塞乌塔边境沿线 8 米高的围栏——这是他们四年来经过乍得、利比亚和阿尔及利亚旅程中的又一个障碍。每次他们都被抓获并被扔回阿尔及利亚附近的沙漠中。现在，他们匆忙奔向水边。“我们看到他们跳进海里，于是我们也跟着跳了，”阿卜杜拉说。

这次涌入使塞乌塔及其仅 8.4万,000, 人的人口不堪重负，暴露了欧洲各国政府之间的深刻分歧。这次涌入在几小时内展开，但实际上已经酝酿了数周，因为西班牙最高法院在 7 月 8 日裁定，任何尝试游向塞乌塔的人不能立即被遣返回摩洛哥。该裁决的消息在社交媒体上迅速传播——并立即被歪曲。有虚假主张称，任何通过海路抵达塞乌塔的人现在都有权留下。

到 7 月中旬，全国各地的摩洛哥人在 Facebook、TikTok、Instagram、Discord 和 X 上进行动员。在 Facebook 群组中，用户发布了跨境地图和指令，并推荐装备，浏览量达到数百万次。技巧在 WhatsApp 群组和其他即时通讯平台上被交换。在与摩洛哥接壤的 8 公里边境线上，西班牙国民卫队的部队感受到了压力。尝试翻墙或游向塞乌塔的人数通常在夏季增加，但这次情况不同。

随着人流增加，塞乌塔市长联系了西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯的办公室。在过去的一周里，已有 1,500 人进入了这个面积仅 18.5 平方公里的领土。仅在前一天，就有 500 人跨境进入。胡安·赫苏斯·比瓦斯在 7 月 27 日向桑切斯的幕僚长发出警告，称按照这个速度，塞乌塔很快将被淹没。在次日与内政部的对话中，比瓦斯敦促政府在塞乌塔宣布进入紧急状态。内政部在 7 月 29 日告知他，这在法律上是不可能的。

“政府像一只温顺的小羊一样，相信摩洛哥会扮演一个忠实伙伴的角色，”人民党（PP）塞乌塔议员哈维尔·塞拉亚表示，“政府知道移民危机随时可能爆发，但它却像一只温顺的小羊一样，相信摩洛哥会扮演一个忠实伙伴的角色。”当他在 [7 月 30 日早晨] 开始收到人们成群结队跨境进入的图像时，塞拉亚立即将其分享给了其他议员。随后他开车前往边境。眼前的景象令他震惊。“我看到了一条人类之河，”他说。民警们对此无能为力，但军队在哪里？

这并非此类事件首次发生：2021 年 5 月，在摩洛哥与西班牙发生外交争端并放宽边境管制后，约 8,000 人涌入塞乌塔。此后，马德里与拉巴特的关系有所改善，但很难相信这么多摩洛哥人能在当局不知情的情况下聚集在同一个地方。

埃拉齐齐到达边境时已是傍晚。当她向水边跑去时，一名摩洛哥边防卫兵抓住了她的手腕。她纵身跳入海中以摆脱对方的抓握。大约 20 分钟后，她到达了陆地，身上除了装在防水壳里的手机外什么也没有。“我当然很高兴，”她说。其他人则描述了在游泳能力较弱的人紧紧攀附在他们身上时，他们如何艰难地维持头部在水面之上。超过 80 人溺亡。

那些成功抵达的人发现无处可去。恐惧的居民们关店闭户，退回家中。街道上一片混乱。一些当地人为了自卫，用棒球棍和扫帚柄武装自己。另一些人则将移民藏在家里，而军队被部署以扭转局势。来自非斯的 17 岁少年哈姆扎·阿尔-萨杜尼说，一名妇女将包括他哥哥在内的一组男人藏在车库里，但邻居向当局举报了他们，随后他们被驱逐。

到第二天，大多数入境者在饥饿、干渴和武力的共同驱使下，被推回了边境。对于桑切斯来说，政治危机才刚刚开始，他在欧洲、美国和以色列的保守派政府中树立了强大的敌人。在访问塞乌塔时，首相将这些事件描述为一次——

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World observer.co.uk 09.08.26 21 一名 12 岁的无成人陪伴男孩恳求一名士兵不要将他送回摩洛哥。

英国。极右翼德国选择党（AfD）领导人爱丽丝·魏德尔宣布，“德国可能是”进入塞乌塔的人们的目的地。这场危机在美国得到了全面报道。在一段据称展示塞乌塔“真相”的视频中，保守派影响力人物尼克·雪莉拍摄了自己逃离一群人的画面，他声称这些人是向他扔石头的移民。该帖子在 X 上拥有 12m 次观看。反虚假信息组织 411 上周的一项分析发现，危机期间极右翼的社交媒体帖子被与俄罗斯军队有关联的账号放大并传播。

在人流激增几天后，塞乌塔的居民涌上街头，参加年度守护圣人游行。当地显贵和一支乐队沿着港口边的散步道，跟随一座 15 世纪的非洲圣母木雕像前行。在几个小时的时间里，居民们感觉仿佛夺回了自己的城市。随后，忧虑再次袭来。

“我们一直在问自己：这种情况还会再次发生吗？”维瓦斯（Vivas）在接受西班牙公共广播公司采访时表示。目前留在塞乌塔的移民人数尚不明确。西班牙当局称大约有 2,000 人，但据维瓦斯称，人数可能是这个数字的三倍，其中包括数百名无人陪伴的儿童。他说，所有这些人必须被遣返回摩洛哥，并警告这会对公共秩序和安全带来风险。在一家入境中心外，埃拉齐齐（Elazizi）与来自阿富汗和厄立特里亚的其他人一起坐在毯子上。她说，她的一位朋友决定返回摩洛哥，现在对此感到后悔。由于学习过德语，她一直想象自己能去德国，但如果能到达西班牙，她也愿意定居在那里。“摩洛哥不是我该待的地方，”她说。Facebook上已经开始流传关于 15 August 再次冲击边境的号召。在一些群组中，既有出售潜水服和脚蹼的帖子，也有寻求 30 July 失踪人员信息的恳求。西班牙部署了浮动屏障以堵住最高法院裁决所暴露的法律漏洞，但许多人质疑这是否足够。

是对西班牙领土完整的一次攻击，但许多欧洲盟友却背弃了他，揭示了整个欧洲大陆右翼和左翼政府之间的深刻分歧。意大利将其归咎于他的中左翼政府采取的开放移民政策，并暂停了与西班牙的自由流动。随着欧洲内部裂痕加深，桑切斯（Sánchez）政府在周五予以反击，宣布将对来自意大利的访客“恢复边境管制”。

特朗普政府近几个月来将不受控制的移民归咎于欧洲的“文明衰落”，他们幸灾乐祸地利用了塞乌塔的局面。在就国防开支和伊朗战争发生僵持后，美国总统已呼吁将西班牙逐出北约，白宫迅速将边境的混乱归咎于桑切斯的“极左全球主义政策”。

西班牙情报部门发现，拉巴特并未像 2021 年那样策划这次涌入，但摩洛哥军队也没有试图阻止。据西班牙日报《国家报》（El País）报道，在摩洛哥庆祝穆罕默德六世国王登基期间，边境沿线的监视有所减少，最终被完全取消。西班牙无法保护边境，引发了人们对其在塞乌塔以及另一个同样被摩洛哥主张主权的飞地的主权质疑。“起初是一场移民危机，但最终被摩洛哥政府利用来挑战西班牙，”塞拉亚（Celaya）说。“西班牙遭受了一次混合攻击。”

下一个威胁来自西班牙本土。极右翼政治人物渴望利用这次动荡，纷纷涌向塞乌塔，誓要夺回这座穆斯林和基督徒混居的城市。西班牙新纳粹组织“国家核心”（National Nucleus）的成员在港口下船时，穿着印有该组织白色标志的黑色T恤。他们并不受欢迎。西班牙极右翼政治人物、欧洲议会议员阿尔维塞·佩雷斯（Alvise Pérez）被迫在一家咖啡馆寻求庇护。愤怒的当地人敲打窗户，大喊“种族主义者”。“这简直是绝对的耻辱，”佩雷斯在护送他返回港口的警车内拍摄的一段视频中说道。

来自欧洲及其他地区的其他右翼政治人物和活动人士也趁机煽动自己的追随者。改革英国党（Reform UK）领导人奈杰尔·法拉奇（Nigel Farage）发布了一段视频，错误地声称进入塞乌塔的摩洛哥人已经在前往 --- 22 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 世界

独居六年，黎智英的狱中书信预示殉道之终

来自他香港狱中牢房的笔记和画作，让人得以窥见这位亲民主媒体大亨孤独的世界。他的家人告诉丹尼·文森特 (Danny Vincent)，为什么他们担心他无法在因触怒北京而获判的20年刑期中生存太久。

在香港岛南端的斯坦利监狱，黎智英的单独监禁远远超出了牢房的墙壁。他的家人表示，这位78岁的老人被单独关押在一个原本空无一人的楼层，由一名警卫监控。甚至在他正上方和正下方的楼层也空无一人，牢房和走廊都被留空。六年来，这位亲民主媒体大亨一直独自在狱中。

黎智英拥有英国公民身份，他每天在牢房中度过23小时，并独自锻炼。今年2月，他根据香港严苛的国家安全法被判处20年监禁，该法律由中国在加强对这座前英国殖民地控制的过程中强加。他的家人表示，这等同于死刑。

由《观察者报》独家看到的笔记、画作和书信摘录，为黎智英的狱中生活提供了一个狭小的窗口。这些资料揭示了一个健康状况在恶化的人，他唯一的陪伴是一份不断增加的、包含100多本书的清单，其中浸透着天主教神学。黎智英正在阅读圣奥古斯丁、托马斯·阿奎那和教宗本笃十六世的作品，在监狱笔记本上涂写，写信，并绘制十字架上的基督。

“我在牢房里坐下之后无法站起来，”他在一封信中写道，“两名警卫进来帮我站起来。”

黎智英的孩子们去年就对他下降的健康状况发声，警告其体重剧减以及牙齿和指甲腐烂。几周之内，他们每隔几个月能收到一次的经过删减的医疗报告停止了发送。家人现在表示，他们几乎没有关于他健康状况的信息。他们担心，如果没有政治干预，黎智英正进入他从亿万富翁商人、媒体大亨到囚犯，并最终成为政治殉道者旅程的最后阶段。

在书信中，黎智英经常写到忍耐与牺牲。“真理与正义必须高于我们的舒适与安康，”他在一封信中写道，“否则，我们的生活将如同‘颈上挂着一块磨盘’。”

其他信件揭示了黎智英对天主教信仰日益浓厚的关注。他的孩子们透露，狱警拒绝让他领取圣体。但在牢房里，他创作了大量圣母玛利亚和钉十字架的画作。

“我认为他的信件和画作证明了他的信仰是如何增长的。尤其是他的信件，描绘了一个在信仰中前行并深化的人，”他居住在伦敦、处于自我流亡状态的女儿黎克莱尔 (Claire Lai) 说道。

“吉米（黎智英）地体现了中国极权政体所厌恶的自由” 前总督 彭定康 (Chris Patten)

对黎智英的判决是迄今为止在北京强加的国家安全法下最严厉的判决。这位亲民主报纸《苹果日报》的创办者被判定在2019年震惊香港的大规模抗议期间，共谋勾结外国势力并发布煽动性材料。

在根据新法被捕的数百人中，黎智英是最著名的一位。对于他的支持者来说，他的入狱象征着香港司法独立的侵蚀以及曾经充满活力的亲民主运动的瓦解。

“他被囚禁的每一天，香港都在为中国制造一个持续的负资产，”他的儿子黎塞巴斯汀 (Sebastien Lai) 表示，“他是最纯粹形式的政治犯和良心犯。他遭受了巨大的残酷对待和不公正，而香港的全球声誉受到了极大的损害，却毫无收获。”

香港否认了黎智英被拒绝医疗护理的说法。当局表示，他在羁押期间接受了“充足且全面”的治疗。惩教人员声称他经常——

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世界 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 23

3天前，在坐着粘贴和折叠大信封后，我的背受伤得很严重，以至于洗完澡穿裤子时可能再次受伤，当我回到牢房坐下后就无法站起来。两名警卫进来帮我站起来，结果反而让我更痛。黎明（Jimmy Lai，左），2020年6月拍摄于香港。Anthony Wallace / AFP, Getty 上图：黎明于2020年5月抵达法院面对指控。Kin Cheung / JRP。医疗检查并否认其治疗具有政治动机。但他的家人表示，他的健康状况正在迅速恶化，如果没有帮助，他将在狱中死去。特朗普总统在5月访问北京期间，向中国国家主席习近平提出了黎明的案件。黎明的孩子们也在呼吁英国首相安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）采取更多行动将他们的父亲接回家。基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）因在今年早些时候访问中国期间未能确保黎明获释而受到抨击。英国政府的一位发言人表示，外交大臣埃德·米尔本（Ed Millband）上个月在马尼拉已与其中方同行王毅提出了黎明的案件。该发言人表示：“黎明的案件仍然是本届政府的优先事项。”但黎明的孩子们依然感到恐惧。黎塞拜路（Sebastien Lai）表示：“每一天对他来说都是生命风险。我的父亲是一位模范英国公民，他的牺牲提醒了我们自由世界的价值。我们不能让他死在监狱里。”黎明出生在中国大陆，12岁时偷渡到英国统治下的香港。他曾做过童工，在服装行业一路奋斗，并创立了自己的服装品牌，从而积累了财富。在1989年北京天安门广场抗议活动被镇压后，他成为一名积极的民主活动人士和对中国共产党的公开批评者。1995年6月，他创办了亲民主的小报《苹果日报》，并利用该报批评香港和北京当局。随着1997年英国将香港移交给中国统治，这种批评日益增加。这个前英国殖民地被承诺拥有中国其他地区不具备的政治自由，包括独立的司法系统、新闻自由和言论自由。随着时间的推移，中国加强了对香港的控制。在2014年由北京拒绝允许香港进行自由选举而引发的所谓“雨伞运动”抗议活动中，黎明是一个重要人物。2019年，在引入一项允许从香港引渡到中国的法案后，抗议活动再次爆发。经过数周的僵持，游行演变为暴力冲突，抗议者冲击了香港立法会。警方以催泪弹、水炮和橡胶子弹做出回应。黎明是该拟议法案的批评者。在抗议活动的高峰期，他飞往华盛顿，在那里会见了时任副总统迈克·彭斯（Mike Pence）和国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥（Mike Pompeo），讨论香港自治面临的威胁。这次旅行在他次年被捕并根据新的国家安全法被起诉时，成为了针对他的案件的核心。香港行政长官李家超声称，黎明利用《苹果日报》来“毒害香港人的思想”。李家超指称，黎明利用该报纸“制造社会冲突，煽动社会对立，煽动仇恨，美化暴力，并公开乞求外国对中国实施制裁”。检察官表示，黎明罪行的严重程度可比肩谋杀。黎明的支持者表示，他决定留在香港，使他成为了亲民主运动被摧毁的象征。约17万,000名香港居民根据2021年引入的签证规则移居英国。“黎明是故意这么做的。他有手段离开。他持有英国护照，但他选择留下，因为他相信香港给予了

在一封信的顶部，黎明揭露了他在背部受伤后无法站立，而他在狱中绘制的画作则显现出他对天主教信仰的执着。一名活动人士告诉《观察者报》：“黎明将一切都……”黎明的家人继续寻求国际社会支持其获释。他的妻子 Teresa 和女儿 Claire 在去年的审判裁决前曾在梵蒂冈会见了教皇利奥。但梵蒂冈正与北京进行自身的谈判，且对黎明的被拘留保持沉默。

“中国共产党如此痛恨黎明的一个原因，不仅是因为他代表了香港许多最优秀的东西，而且是因为他准备为此挺身而出，即便他可以在任何时刻离开，即便他知道如果留下，警察国家迟早会找上他，”香港最后一任英国总督彭定康（Chris Patten）说道。“我认为黎明地体现了中国极权政体所痛恨的自由。”他表示，国家安全法改变了这座城市。“那些认为繁荣可以在没有法治的情况下存在的人，并不理解开放社会是如何运作的。”

已有 400 多人根据该法被捕，批评者称其执法范围正在扩大。上个月，在该市年度书展的第一天，两家独立书店遭到突击搜查。警方逮捕了五名员工，涉嫌展示煽动性材料。“政府说它不想要一份禁书名单，但它希望保持模糊，这样就没人知道自己能买什么样的书，”一名活动人士说。“这给阅读者造成了巨大的寒蝉效应。”

并非黎明亲属的香港法律专家黎艾力（Eric Lai）表示：“安全警察对国家安全法的执行在持续扩大。这标志着香港普通法法院政治公正性和非党派性质的丧失，使其仅仅成为政府镇压人们的工具。”

在香港新界的一个工业园区里，矗立着黎明创办的报纸《苹果日报》被遗弃的总部。该报曾是该地区最受欢迎的报纸之一，在国家安全法生效后两次遭到突击搜查，最终于 2021 年关闭。“香港政府想要清除所有与它或北京政府不同或不一致的声音，”一名因担心遭到报复而不愿透露姓名的该报前记者说道。

黎塞巴斯蒂安（Sebastien Lai）表示，他的父亲在选择留在香港时，“非常清楚自己放弃了什么”。他说：“他选择为他人的自由挺身而出。用平静的生活换取有意义的人生。”

--- 24 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 世界

“就像和你孩子的杀手住在同一个屋檐下，而屋外群狼环伺”

英籍伊朗裔纪录片制作人本·赞德（Ben Zand）及其团队获得了一些伊朗内部人士的罕见采访，这些人冒着生命危险，就政权和战争发声。

Bahar 是德黑兰的一名社会工作者。她是女性权利抗议活动的资深参与者，且一直持有“反以色列和反美国”的立场。她与自己所生活的政府之间一直存在分歧，但当与美国的战争看起来极有可能发生时，她并不欢迎这种局面。在她看来，变革必须由伊朗人自己来实现，而不是依靠外国势力的炸弹。

随后，在 28 月 2 日那天晚上，随着美国和以色列的导弹击中德黑兰，且消息传出该国最高领袖阿里·哈梅内伊（Ali Khamenei）已被击毙，Bahar（非真名）做了一件她自己都没预料到的事情。她跳舞了。

“我不喜欢战争，也不喜欢外国干涉，”她告诉我们，“但抛开这些，跳舞直到黎明。”她说，仅此一夜。她当时非常开心。

六个月后，Bahar 感到被困住了。就像许多同意与我们讨论战争的伊朗人一样——他们为此承担了巨大的风险——她现在发现自己处于两种力量之间一个绝望的境地，而她觉得这两方都没有把她的最佳利益放在心上。

我的父亲是伊朗人，在我于利物浦成长的童年时期，伊朗一直是一个奇怪的部分。那是一个我通过家人、食物、电话以及关于一个被告知已永远改变的国家的故事而体验到的平行世界。我在许多伊朗人所经历的深沉爱国主义和自我审查中长大。他们为自己的根源感到自豪，但又恐惧伊斯兰共和国那长长的触角。

我青少年时期访问过一次那个国家，但在成为一名记者和纪录片导演、开始提出尖锐问题之后，伊朗成了我无法再次造访的地方。该政权习惯于监禁拥有我这种护照组合和职业的人。

因此，当我们今年决定拍摄一部关于伊朗的电影时，我们采用了唯一觉得正确的方式：将其作为一个完全由当地伊朗人讲述的故事。发声可能会带来最糟糕的后果，因此为了保护他们，许多人的身份被隐藏了。

故事在第一枚炸弹落下之前就开始了。12 月，由于货币崩溃和汽油价格飙升，交易商们开始在巴扎（bazaars）中抗议。

从左上角起顺时针方向：1 月的反政府示威；4 月的一场亲政权抗议；6 月一名穿着西式服装的女性走在德黑兰街头；以及 3 月美国对首都的袭击。Academic / Getty Images, ITV / Zandland

头巾禁令实际上已不再被强制执行；人们描述街道上出现了披肩长发和露脐上衣

到 1 月，这些示威活动可能成为了记忆中最规模最大、最广泛的一次。在最初的欢欣鼓舞之后，镇压随之而来。

我们采访的人描述安全部队下跪以稳定瞄准，狙击手激光瞄准器的绿点在人群中移动，医院被冲进，受伤的抗议者在病床上被逮捕。一名当地消息人士告诉我们，警方接到的指令是开枪击毙。

伊朗的人权活动人士表示，在 1 月初的那些日子里，有 6,488 名抗议者丧生，据报道还有数千起死亡案例仍在审核中。

我们拍摄的人之一 Yasaman 和家人一起参加了抗议。她的儿子刚大学毕业；他热爱说唱音乐，想要纹身，想要出名。在枪声中，她与他失散了，当一个陌生人最终接听她儿子的电话时，对方将她引导至一个车库，他死在那里，心脏中弹。

几天后，由于停尸房太满，她被迫在显示器上通过滚动浏览死者照片来确认他的身份。

从15岁的少年到60多岁的男性，许多人的面孔受损严重，已无法辨认。她告诉我们，在那之后，她日夜祈祷哈梅内伊及其血脉被毁灭。到了二月，许多悲痛的伊朗人紧握着特朗普总统关于“援助在路上”的承诺，公开表示希望美国发动攻击。米特拉是一位单身母亲，她将一套公寓变成了野战医院，用来救治那些因恐惧而不敢去医院的受伤抗议者，她直截了当地表示：政权只能通过战争才能终结，而特朗普必须杀死哈梅内伊。从外部看，这听起来像是疯狂或宣传。但近距离观察，两者都不是。当年轻人因渴望更多自由而被枪杀后，渴望战争便不再是地缘政治。它是悲痛，是复仇，是那些尝试了所有其他手段的人们所产生的可怕逻辑。这些人并非轻易走到这一步。在数十年间，他们被一次次葬礼或一次次不公正地推向绝路。随后炸弹落了下来，在一段时间里，那些悲痛者所祈祷的事情似乎正在发生。在担任最高领袖37年后，哈梅内伊去世了。人们在屋顶上庆祝。在那个夜晚，抗议者们感到期待已久的变革即将到来。邻居们拜访雅萨曼向她祝贺。巴哈尔跳起了舞。但几天之内，现实就击中了他们。哈梅内伊的儿子穆贾塔巴被任命为第三任最高领袖。国家没有崩溃。它进行了调整，并转向内部。炸弹继续落在那些本应被解放的人们身上。在米纳布，一枚美国战斧导弹击中了一所学校，造成170多名平民死亡，其中120人为儿童。美国启动了初步调查，但尚未公开承认对这场战争中最严重的单次暴行之一承担责任。由于伊朗仍然拒绝屈服，美国总统在4月7日以书面形式威胁称，“整个文明将在今晚死去”，且永远无法复原。对于我们拍摄的人们来说，面对这样一句话，他们无处可逃。他们屏住呼吸，祈祷。到同一天停火时，人权监测机构已确认，自战争开始以来，已有1,700多名平民在美国和以色列的袭击中丧生——其中至少250名为儿童。

上图：本月早些时候，一名女性走在德黑兰的一幅巨幅横幅前。上方，伊朗警察7月在首都执勤。Anadolu, John Moore / Getty Images。《伊朗内部：战争与革命》（Inside Iran: War & Revolution）今晚 10.15pm 在 ITV1 播出，并在 Zandland 的 YouTube 频道 youtube.com / @zandland 国际播出。

特朗普现在正面临在伊朗的战略失败。在要求该政权“无条件投降”近六个月后，一项让伊朗继续控制霍尔木兹海峡的协议，似乎成了白宫走出危机的唯一途径。战争开始时，特朗普敦促伊朗人民“起义”，宣布“你们自由的时间到了”。现在，他似乎准备宣布胜利并抽身离去。这场战争给了该政权一份最实用的礼物。德黑兰一夜之间布满了检查站，每一个异见人士现在都可以被重新定义为外国特工。人们仅仅因为用手机拍摄就被拘留。一月份的抗议者现在不仅是煽动者——他们成了战时的叛徒。到目前为止，至少有26人因与抗议活动有关而被执行死刑。帕林是一位参加了一月抗议活动的艺术家，她将那些活动描述为一场美梦，她用这样的话描述人们目前的处境：“感觉就像和你孩子的凶手被关在自己家里，而一群狼在外面徘徊。”

自战争以来，关于伊朗的讨论已僵化为两个阵营。第一阵营欢迎袭击，并将自由伊朗的事业与以色列和华盛顿联系在一起：政权是唯一的问题，任何与之战斗的人都是朋友。礼萨·帕赫拉维被许多人视为该阵营的领袖。他是最后一位沙阿流亡在外的儿子，他一月份的抗议号召帮助填满了街道，但他与美国和以色列的关系甚至在那些参与游行的人之中也引起了分歧。

第二个阵营在西方声音日益高涨，他们将伊斯兰共和国重新塑造为一个敢于对抗美国和以色列的反帝国主义强权，其民众在旗帜下集结。对于任何信仰民主、自由和表达权的人来说，请记住：伊朗政府不能声称拥有其中任何一项。作为一名在这次战争期间无法清晰表达自己感受的英籍伊朗人，我理解人们是如何得出这两种立场的。这篇文章并非在为这场战争辩护，因为战争让几乎所有事情都变得更糟：它巩固了原本旨在终结的政权，杀害了数百名儿童，并赋予了国家将批评者贴上叛徒标签的许可。理解那些绝望、悲痛的人为何渴望战争，并不等同于说他们渴望战争是正确的，更不是在赞美那些发动战争的权力者。我希望这部电影能让那些几乎被遗忘的伊朗声音人性化。

Mojgan Ilanlou 见证了这个国家的每一种版本。1979年，她还是个女学生，被选中演唱沙王的赞歌；几个月后，在革命之后，她被交给一张新的乐谱，被要求为一种新国家的领导人鲁霍拉·霍梅尼（Ruhollah Khomeini）歌唱。她一生的大部分时间都在反对伊斯兰共和国，并因此入狱。但她同样反对战争，并对米纳布（Minab）发生的事情感到心碎。她提出了一个很少有人愿意听到的问题：即使能推翻政权，你能保证接下来的情况会更好吗？

她的答案以另一种方式出现。她说，在战争期间，五个蒙面男子来到她家门口，殴打她，用枪顶住她的头，在蒙住她眼睛的情况下将她开车带到一座空建筑里。她的罪名是接受外国媒体采访。他们在凌晨4点释放了她。随后，她接受了我们的采访。她说，发声是对遇难者家属最起码的责任。

我不知道接下来会发生什么，也很难信任任何声称知道的人。但伊朗不可否认地改变了。目前，希贾布（hijab）在实际上已不再被监管；受访者描述在不久前还难以想象的街道上，出现了披肩长发和露脐上衣。与此同时，抗议者仅因向国外发送视频等微小行为而被执行死刑的速度正在加快；上个月，死刑在伊斯法罕（Isfahan）开始示威的广场上执行。

对于我们拍摄的几乎所有人来说，已经终结的是一种信念，即解放可以来自天空。许多人祈祷的这场战争，反而巩固了它本应摧毁的体制，而那些被困在杀手与恶狼之间的人比任何评论员都清楚这一点。剩下的东西更微小、更坚硬，也更具人性：父母在孩子的坟墓前挑衅地起舞，人们冒着一切风险与我们交谈，因为他们在赌，在某个地方，仍然有人在倾听。

World observer.co.uk 09.08.26 25

“受挫的民主党人需要克服身份危机”

评论 / 休·汤姆林森 (Hugh Tomlinson) 美国特派员

“他们想取消感恩节，他们想取消圣诞节……他们想要沙里亚法，”德克萨斯州参议员泰德·克鲁兹 (Ted Cruz) 上周告诉福克斯新闻。“他们憎恨犹太人，他们憎恨基督徒，他们憎恨资本主义。他们憎恨美国。”

如果一名偶然的观众认为有人触碰到了政治痛点，那么这个判断是非常准确的。在今年夏天的初选季中，民主党建制派在面对激进左翼的冲击时，遭遇了一连串令人尴尬的失败。但上周在密歇根州举行的参议院初选，穆斯林进步派的阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德 (Abdul el-Sayed) 击败了中间派众议员海莉·史蒂文斯 (Haley Stevens)，这对民主党领导层来说是一次彻底的羞辱，对该党而言则是一场政治地震。

在党史上最昂贵的这场初选中，主流民主党大佬们步调一致地支持史蒂文斯——但最终失败了。今年，建制派候选人在纽约和科罗拉多等安全的“蓝色选区”中，接连在初选中输给了民主社会主义者。埃尔-赛义德证明了进步派现在可以在一个不到两年前还投票给唐纳德·特朗普的摇摆州赢得全州范围的胜利。

但这场惨烈的密歇根州初选再次揭露了一场内战，这场战争围绕着以色列以及民主党的未来方向，在年轻的活动家翼与年长的、支持以色列的建制派之间展开。埃尔-赛义德是以色列的公开批评者，他谴责加沙战争是“种族灭绝”，并呼吁停止美国对这个犹太国家的军事援助。史蒂文斯此前曾宣布自己是一名“热情的锡安主义者”，并表示“以色列出现在我的梦中”。在外部团体（包括美国以色列公共事务委员会 Aipac）超过 6000万美元 (4500万美元) 的支持下，她的竞选支出是埃尔-赛义德的九倍。

埃尔-赛义德关于将资金从政治竞选中剔除，并将军事援助转向医疗保健和学校的主张最终获胜，但仅是险胜。他以仅一个百分点的优势获胜，这引发了民主党领导人的担忧，他们担心他的左翼纲领对于 11 月中期选举中的摇摆选民来说过于激进，届时他将面对前共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯 (Mike Rogers)。

在埃尔-赛义德的胜利被确认时，他承认“还有很多需要愈合的地方”。但在史蒂文斯承认失败后的几小时内，有报道称 Aipac 将全力支持罗杰斯。民主党战略家担心犹太选民也会随之而去。“犹太人为这次竞选投入的任何资金绝对会流向罗杰斯。对于任何 40 岁以上的人来说，犹太人与民主党之间的传统关系已经结束了，”资深战略家、比尔·克林顿的前顾问汉克·谢因科普夫 (Hank Sheinkopf) 表示。

嗅到了血腥味的共和党人已经在部署一套熟悉的策略，其简单程度近乎残酷。“埃尔-赛义德是一个伊斯兰主义者，”克鲁兹告诉福克斯，并警告美国正面临激进伊斯兰主义与共产主义之间的“绿红合流”。罗杰斯正利用反犹主义的指控猛攻埃尔-赛义德，试图争取那些曾投票给史蒂文斯的失望民主党人和独立选民。Maga 影响力人物劳拉·卢默 (Laura Loomer) 称他为“一名圣战分子”。特朗普谴责他为“一个充满仇恨的人”。

中间派民主党人现在陷入了纠结。如果埃尔-赛义德在 11 月失败，将证明他们的信念——即史蒂文斯更具竞争力且能遏制社会主义浪潮；但这将丢掉一个本可以赢得的参议院席位，并可能葬送他们夺回参议院的希望。但如果他获胜，成为美国历史上第一位穆斯林参议员，这将再次确认进步派对该党的掌控力。同时，这也将放大要求像纽约众议员亚历山德里娅·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯 (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 这样的左翼候选人参加 2026 年总统竞选的呼声。

该候选人将成为该党内部诸多分歧的引雷针。在乔·拜登 2024 年竞选连任的灾难之后，民主党选民不再信任其领导层告知他们谁具有竞争力，当时该党忽视了显示选民对总统年龄感到担忧的民调。共和党对民主党分裂的欣喜被他们自身面临的挑战所削弱。特朗普在三月份承诺将在数周内结束的与伊朗的战争，现在正与秋季竞选期相撞。总统的支持率继续下跌，在最近的一项民调中触及 32%，人们对他处理美国经济的方式感到日益沮丧。“选民的感知就是现实，”一名共和党战略分析师表示。“你可以告诉他们，如今经济的基本面更强，而且我们不得不消除[在拜登任内]造成的损害。但当他们没有感受到这一点时，情况就不太妙了。”据该分析师称，由于共和党无法依靠特朗普的政绩来竞选，他们别无选择，只能重新唤起激进伊斯兰主义或共产主义的幽灵，并倾向于散布恐惧。他说：“（针对 11 月的）核心信息是：‘民主党人疯了，他们失去了理智。’” --- 观察者报

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26 27

乔德雷尔银行（Jodrell Bank）带来了一种对地域的自豪感。它是一个精神家园 $\rightarrow$ Teresa Anderson，第 33 页

严肃的职业教育是帮助失败学生的最佳途径——这并非在“让愚蠢回归”

Philip Collins

对学术成果的强调虽然对最优秀的学生有效，但却让许多人掉队，成为了“尼特族”（Neets）。他们值得更好的对待。

教育政治可以用数字来衡量。应该是采用一套综合教育体系，还是分为职业教育和学术教育两套体系——亦或是由文法学校、现代中学和技术流派组成的三套体系？我们需要重新计算一遍，因为新任教育大臣露西·鲍威尔（Lucy Powell）批评当前的学校体系倾向于“过度关注”学术成果。她的保守党前任之一、也是近期最出色的前任迈克尔·戈夫（Michael Gove），将这种观点总结为希望“让愚蠢回归”。

要理解为什么鲍威尔的观点是对的而非错的，我们需要回顾教育史，回到第一次尝试将学校体系分为三类的时期。在战时联合政府期间，1944年的《巴特勒法案》（Butler Act）旨在引入由文法学校、技术学校和现代中学组成的“三元体系”。

《巴特勒法案》犯了两个严重的错误。第一个错误是将文法学校与现代中学分开，这给那些未能通过 11 岁入学考试（11-plus）的人贴上了“二等”的标签。右翼人士痴迷于恢复文法学校，而这样做确实是在“让愚蠢回归”。到 1959 年，当文法学校比以往任何时候（包括之后）都更普遍时，它们教育的是该群体中最优秀的 20%。但在所有获得两个或更多 A-level 成绩的文法学校学生中，仅有 0.3% 来自技术工人阶级。文法学校成了阶级隔离的工具。

综合学校并非诞生于工党教育大臣托尼·克罗斯兰（Tony Crosland）的意识形态幻想；它们是由那些孩子未能进入文法学校的中产阶级父母所要求的。就这样，两套体系慢慢合而为一。

之所以没有留下两套体系（学术体系和技术体系），是因为巴特勒犯的第二个且影响更深远的错误：他承诺的技术教育根本没有实现。

1979年，伯明翰加雷茨格林技术学院的一名讲师和学生们与一辆电动车在一起。Micropix / Getty Images

由克罗斯兰发起，并在玛格丽特·撒切尔 1970 到 1974 年担任教育大臣期间加速推进的综合学校，变成了一场完全学术化的活动。综合学校基于一个美好的想法——这在当时的工党内部是标准配置，浪漫主义者戈夫先生也认同这一点——即如果我们为所有人提供学术教育，那么少数钻石就会从原石中脱颖而出。这很好地描述了戈夫的轨迹，也讲述了我自己的故事，但周围像戈夫和我这样的人并不多。你可能会为此感到庆幸。

我可以理解戈夫对鲍威尔批评的恼怒，因为英国学校体系确实有许多值得自豪的地方。这种成功归功于两大主要政党，它始于近 40 年前肯尼斯·贝克（Kenneth Baker）的 1988 年《教育改革法案》，该法案引入了城市技术学院。这是托尼·布莱尔政府在 2000 年《学习与技能法案》中引入城市学院的模板，随后戈夫通过 2010 年《学院法案》将其扩大。在此期间，英国在国际排名中上升了。读写能力和计算能力得到了提高，科学理解力也随之增强。

在这种跨党派的成功中，有一个显而易见的例外。仍然有太长的一尾学生表现极其糟糕。2024年，有超过3万,000名学生在英语GCSE考试中未能达到1级或更高成绩。略低于7,000名学生参加了考试但未获得成绩，另有2.35万,500人在参加考试前就已放弃。在数学方面，3.2万,000人未能达到1级或更高成绩，1万,000人不及格，2.2万,000人未参加考试。这些学生中的许多人忍受了数年的历史和地理学习，结果却一无所获。英国的学校体系对于最富有的人来说是极好的——当然，其中一些人在私立学校就读——对于大多数人来说也非常不错，但对于太多的人来说却是悲惨的。这种失败延伸到了劳动力市场。艾伦·米尔本（Alan Milburn）最近为福利与养老金大臣提交的报告显示，有100 万年轻人不在教育、就业或培训之中（Neets），且其中近60%的人从未有过工作。1964年，70%的15岁离校学生没有正式资格证书，但这其实并不重要。他们从学校直接进入职场，因为工业经济正在产生大量工作岗位，而他们可以在工作场所接受相关培训。无论首相偶尔对工业时代的英国产生怎样的怀旧之情，煤炭、钢铁和纺织的世界都不会回来了。正因为安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）对此乐观得近乎盲目，他才需要其教育大臣所建议的改革。而且，确实有一个现成的解决方案，它不仅不会加深学术与技术之间的分歧，反而将这两个体系重新统一。这是1988年法案的作者贝克勋爵（Lord Baker）的构思。在他的大学技术学院（UTCs）中，学生从14岁开始就读，在学习英语、数学和科学等基础课程的同时，攻读工程等严肃学科的文凭。他们在19岁毕业，随后进入职场或接受高等教育，而学院的赞助方由一家企业和一所大学组成，使得这两个去向成为可能。戈夫（Gove）的前顾问萨姆·弗里德曼（Sam Freedman）曾写道，他的老板与贝克之间的关系十分冷淡。戈夫认为强迫学生在14岁时就选择人生方向太早了，这是一个严肃的反对意见。然而，一个事实无疑反驳了这一点：许多人在14岁时确实了解自己的天赋；另一个事实同样反驳了这一点，正如鲍威尔（Powell）正确指出的那样，技术卓越不需要以牺牲学术卓越为代价。教育顾问戴西·克里斯托杜卢（Daisy Christodoulou）指出，在劳动力市场上价值最高的职业证书都需要相当的学术能力。这里可能存在一个悖论。如果那些表现不佳的学生被置于一个能明显为他们的人生提供起步机会的课程体系中，他们的学术表现无疑会更好。这肯定比强迫他们走上一条毫无出路的道路要好。安德鲁·拉文斯利（Andrew Ravensley）休假中 --- 28 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 论坛

黑人学者面临的种族主义，并不会因为急于为杰森·阿尔代辩护而得到缓解

肯南·马利克

这是一个几乎没有人能全身而退的故事。无论是杰森·阿尔代（Jason Arday）——这位被誉为“剑桥大学最年轻的黑人教授”，他处于一场关于剽窃和谎言的风暴中心，并于上周三辞去了大学职务；还是那些利用他来炫耀其在促进多样性方面所谓成就的机构；亦或是阿尔代的辩护者们，他们没有正视事实，而是将这些指控斥为“种族主义的抹黑”。虽然他的许多批评者在挖掘真相方面发挥了不可或缺的作用，但过去一周里，太多人将其视为一个“抓到把柄”的故事而猛扑上去，导致了一场集体围攻，从而鼓励了种族主义者宣泄他们的毒液。

阿尔代的故事非常惊人，至少在他自己的讲述中是这样。他的自传《伟大而不幸之事》（Great and Unfortunate Things）将于本月晚些时候出版，书中讲述了他成长于伦敦南部的一栋市政住宅中，并在三岁时被诊断出患有自闭症和全球发育迟缓。他直到快 12 岁才学会说话，直到成年才学会读写。在青少年时期，他被一个帮派严重殴打，导致患上了癫痫。尽管在这一旅程的大部分时间里，据他自己所说，他的阅读能力并不比他三岁的女儿好，但这些苦难并没有阻止阿尔代获得学士、硕士和博士学位。在完成博士论文前不久，他患上了脑瘤，随后发生了微小中风，导致短期记忆丧失。尽管如此，他还是通过了答辩，并在多所大学任教，其学术攀升在剑桥大学的教授职衔上达到了顶峰。

很难在讲述这个故事时，既不把阿尔代塑造成童话英雄，又不显得在不信地冷嘲热讽。其中有多少是真实的仍然是一个开放性问题。他的学术工作和人生故事的许多方面都开始瓦解。内森·科夫纳斯（Nathan Cofnas）是一位对种族和智力持有（委婉地说）争议性观点的研究员，他上个月公布了阿尔代涉嫌剽窃的细节。此类指控此前就已流传。去年，阿尔代获得博士学位的利物浦约翰摩尔斯大学进行了一项调查并为其洗清了嫌疑，不过调查结果仍保密。这一次，该故事被更广泛的媒体报道，许多其他指控接踵而至，包括欺诈以及伪造研究参与者引言的指控。

他人生故事的许多部分也开始受到质疑，例如他声称在 35 天内跑了 30 场马拉松以筹集慈善资金。最令人不安的故事来自《高等教育时报》（Times Higher Education）的记者杰克·格罗夫（Jack Grove），他当时正在调查剽窃指控。格罗夫受到了大都会警察局的调查，并被告知不要联系阿尔代，因为“这影响了他的心理健康”。据报道，此前阿尔代还求助于诽谤律师事务所 Carter-Ruck，以帮助压制一篇不利的文章。Carter-Ruck 帮助管理公众名誉，包括通过阻挡潜在的破坏性报道。像许多名人一样，阿尔代试图保护的是他的“品牌”不被玷污。

这似乎也是剑桥大学和其他大学拒绝更仔细审查阿尔代作品的目的。对于他们来说，阿尔代象征着他们在向更多边缘群体开放机构方面所取得的表面成功，而实际上却几乎没有采取任何行动。正如《卫报》的杰森·奥昆代（Jason Okundaye）所观察到的，关于他被任命为教授的讨论并不是关于“其学术实质”，而更多是一个关于“这是否让你感觉良好”的问题。

许多学者和作家的辩护同样糟糕。一份由良好法律计划（Good Law Project）发起并由知名公众人物签署的公开信，谴责这些指控“完全虚假”，是一场旨在“削弱持有影响力职位的黑人”的“抹黑行动”。黑人学者凯欣德·安德鲁斯（Kehinde Andrews）则暗示，如果阿尔代（Arday）“不是黑人，我们就不会进行这次讨论”。

阿尔代的辩护者们对科夫纳斯（Cofnas）在这场辩论中所扮演的角色感到尤为愤怒。科夫纳斯自称一名“种族现实主义者”，认为黑人的智力低于白人；他坚持认为在精英管理体制下，“黑人将从除体育和娱乐之外几乎所有高知名度的职位中消失”，且“黑人教授的数量将接近 0%”——这些观点导致他被剑桥大学解雇。承认科夫纳斯持有种族主义观点，并不意味着不能严肃对待针对阿尔代的指控。黑人学生和学者所面临的种族主义，并不会因为将所有针对黑人学者的指控斥为“种族主义抹黑”而得到缓解。这样做只会给像科夫纳斯这样的人物提供更大的合法性。

不过，阿尔代的辩护者们说得没错，学术剽窃和欺诈的指控能受到如此密集的审查确实罕见。三年前，另一位剑桥学者、历史学家威廉·奥赖利（William O'Reilly）被判定剽窃，其情节可以说更为严重，他将学生论文中的段落据为己有。这件事几乎没有登上头条，而奥赖利至今仍在剑桥任教。

对于右翼的某些群体而言，阿尔代已经成为了一个象征，正如他对于学术机构和所谓的反种族主义者那样。对前者来说，他是多样性的面孔；对后者来说，他是学术界向“觉醒文化”（wokeness）投降的例证。许多此类批评者将少数族裔学者贬低为“DEI（多样性、公平与包容）雇员”，并抨击社会学等“伪”学科。如果我们拒绝承认无论在何处发现的剽窃和欺诈——即便是在黑人学者的作品中——那么我们就无法挑战此类主张。那将是为种族主义者和反动派提供更多的弹药。

进食障碍治疗小组中唯一的男人

我与食物的关系曾让我多年感到孤立——直到我寻求帮助。作者：Dom McGovern

那是2021年11月，我正登录 Zoom 参加西伦敦进食障碍服务中心的会议。一次由 NHS（英国国家医疗服务体系）强制要求的心理健康评估并非世界上最糟糕的事情，但对我来说，“西伦敦进食障碍服务中心”这个短语在英语中是最令人沮丧的词组组合之一。事实证明，这将是我与心理健康专业人士的多次接触之首，旨在评估我对自身身体形象的认知，以及我在青少年时期和二十多岁时试图“修复”身体的有害方式。

五年前，“男性心理健康”基本上仅限于11月中的三周，那时英国的男性尝试但未能成功蓄起胡须，然后便停止讨论这个话题；但与此同时，算法开始向我们推送精心制作的短视频，由健美运动员指导我们的蛋白质摄入量。

直到成年，我仍然觉得承认我的身体关系在多大程度上主导了我的思考是一件几乎令人尴尬的事情——我将食物本身视为一种算法，一个输入和输出系统，而不是一件为了享受而存在的事物。由于害怕承认这一点，我多年来一直不敢寻求帮助。

从15岁起，我就陷入了讨价还价、限制饮食和过度进食的循环中。在青少年时期，我会避开早餐，在午餐时找借口，然后在晚上强行将晚餐从胃里催吐出来。这种模式一直持续到成年，直到一次与母亲的谈话迫使我寻求帮助。

正如在任何一个过度扩张且资金不足的医疗系统中一样，评估与治疗之间的间隔时间很长。NHS 的标准治疗方案是团体认知行为疗法（CBT）。我不知道在团体环境下会发生什么，但当我到达那里时，我没料到自己会是那里唯一的男人。

在某种意义上，这是可以预见的。进食障碍患者中四分之一是男性，但认为进食障碍是“女性”疾病的误区阻碍了一些男性寻求帮助。作为一名男同性恋者，我原以为自己可以免于被归入“男性心理健康”的范畴。对我来说，这个短语体现了一种被编码的需求，而我认为作为一名男同性恋者，我更能清晰地表达自己的感受。但即便如此，我还是花了一十多年才寻求帮助。

对我以及治疗小组中的同伴来说，我们的身体形象问题有着相似的根源。我们经历了 2000 年代，通过潜移默化地吸收小报版本中的理想身材（极瘦），而现在我们生活在后疫情时代的蛋白质和 Ozempic era.。回到了原点，在算法的驱动下陷入了一种“健身精神病”状态。

我显然知道，从历史上看，女性改变身体的压力更为剧烈。但在我的经验中，作为一名男人，很难识别出影响你的那些潜移默化的压力来源。你并不总能意识到，那些被冠以“健身增肌”之名的建议，如果走得太远，会导致有害的自我认知。

由于我的同性恋身份，在面对男性凝视时，我既是客体也是客体化者，这种额外的复杂性意味着我觉得自己是在试图达到一种僵化的男同性恋身体标准，而这种标准除了我自己，没有人强加给我。

我原以为成为治疗小组中唯一的男人会让我感到孤立，认为我障碍的起源太“男性化”而无法与女性产生共鸣，但又不够阳刚到能被算作“男性心理健康”。

实际上，每个人的生活经历就像在任何群体中一样多样。并不是我们想要变得更瘦——我们只是想花更少的时间去思考自己的身体。

最终，知道没有人像你思考自己那样思考你，是一种巨大的安慰。通过以同情和理解对待彼此，我们迈出了同样对待自己的步伐。

Dom McGovern 是一位喜剧演员。他的爱丁堡艺穗节演出《Prize Hop》将在 Pleasance Courtyard 展出至 8 月 30 日

论坛

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

29

消防员没有奢侈地争论气候的余地

身处前线的人知道，减少排放至关重要 —— Steve Wright 与 Katie White 撰文

任何认为我们仍有时间缓慢适应气候变化现实的人，都应该随消防员值一次班。在过去的几天里，消防队伍一直在与萨福克郡邓威奇希斯（Dunwich Heath）的山火作斗争。前线的消防员描述道，在穿越燃烧的荒原后，他们回家时脚上布满了水泡；而另一些人则面临着一个不可能的选择：是穿着全套防护装备冒着中暑的风险，还是脱掉装备让自己暴露在火焰之中。事后，一名分队主管说出了许多服务人员的感受：“在以前，像这样的事件是前所未有的。”而如今，它们正成为工作的一部分。

火灾仍占所有事件的四分之一以上，但在过去十年中，这一职责已发生了翻天覆地的变化。曾经意味着灭火的制服，现在越来越多地意味着在洪水中搜寻、从湍急的河流中营救人员，以及应对已成为前线日常生活的极端天气紧急情况。去年，英国经历了有记录以来首次“超级大火”，火焰席卷了苏格兰高地近 1万,000 公顷（2471万,710 英亩）的土地。最近几周，消防员被迫攀登凯恩戈姆山脉（Cairngorms）和大曼彻斯特地区上方的偏远荒原，以在火焰进一步蔓延前将其遏制，并在威尔士南北两地与大火搏斗。

我们并非孤例。近期法国西南部的山火导致了该国历史上除战争时期外最大规模的公民流离失所。在边境另一侧，西班牙已有超过 20万,000 公顷的土地被焚毁，而专家将希腊的山火季描述为有记录以来最糟糕的时期之一。

十年前，消防员工会（Fire Brigades Union）的总书记和英国气候部长可能不会共同撰文。但今天我们这么做了，因为世界已经改变，应对这一挑战意味着要以前所未有的方式共同协作。

我们的态度不能更明确了：这绝不仅仅是一连串的运气不佳。英国气象局（Met Office）已经证明，由于气候变化，英国 2022 年出现山火条件的概率至少增加了六倍；而英国的气候变化风险评估警告称，在一个升温 2 摄氏度的世界里，具备严重山火潜在条件的日期数量可能会翻倍。

在一些政党仍在争论英国在气候变化方面应持有多少雄心，且一些人继续质疑科学本身的时候，消防员没有奢侈地将此视为一场辩论的余地。如果这就是新的气候现实，我们有两项同样重要的任务：减少驱动这一现实的排放，并让我们的国家为已经可见的影响做好准备。这两者缺一不可。

这意味着要将增强应对气候变化的韧性视为一项国家使命。我们每避免一吨碳排放，就能降低后代将面临的风险；而每一项在韧性方面的投资，都能帮助家庭、企业和关键基础设施免受已经注定会发生的影响。

这种方法已经取得了成效。在防洪方面，政府将投资超过 105亿英镑 用于建设防御设施直至 2036, 这是此类规模最大的计划，有助于保护约 84万,000 户家庭和企业；而分析显示，在洪水韧性方面每投资 £1 即可防止约 £8 的经济损失。

同样的原则应当塑造我们应对气候变化的更广泛响应。投资于韧性基础设施、更好的预测、更强大的应急服务和地方准备工作，不仅仅是为了应对灾难，而是在灾难发生前减轻其影响和成本。

我们的气候转型是英国最大的机遇之一，需要进行几代人以来最大规模的国家升级。这意味着建设将苏格兰本土电力输送至全国的电力超级公路，在桑德兰建立价值数十亿英镑的电动汽车电池工厂，并在从莫雷到德文的医院、军事基地和学校安装太阳能电池板，从而降低账单，并将更多资金回馈到最需要的地方。这将需要持续的投资、长期的确定性，以及政府、工业界与一线部门之间的伙伴关系。如果我们能正确处理，我们将创造技术岗位，将更多投资留在国内，并为下一代留下一个更安全、更具韧性的国家。

增强韧性是我们每个人都应承担责任的事。随着炎热干燥的夏季变得更加普遍，我们的选择可能决定结果是化险为夷还是演变成一场重大山火。避免使用一次性烧烤炉和营火，安全处置烟蒂，绝不留下玻璃瓶（玻璃瓶会聚焦阳光并点燃干草），尊重火灾预警并尽早报告火情，这些都能帮助保护我们的乡村以及那些冒着生命危险守护这里的消防员。如果消防员的工作在十年内发生了如此巨大的变化，那么这个国家也已经发生了变化。我们的应对措施将随着这一现实继续演进，削减排放，增强我们的韧性，并确保政府、应急服务部门和社区共同努力，保护我们热爱的人民和地方。

史蒂夫·赖特（Steve Wright）是消防旅工会（Fire Brigades Union）总书记，凯蒂·怀特（Katie White OBE MP）是能源安全与净零排放部的国务大臣

--- 30 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 论坛

安迪·伯纳姆的国内重心恐使英国与欧盟的关系重启陷入停滞

汤姆·鲍德温 (Tom Baldwin)

在欧洲问题上保持沉默并推迟贸易协议，可能会损害经济增长，并破坏首相的“提升幸福感”计划。

到目前为止，安迪·伯纳姆担任首相的短暂时间里，最具有“外国”色彩的方面，大概是他上周与妻子和孩子在某个“海外”地点度过的假期。尽管唐宁街理所当然地希望保护他的隐私，没有透露他的具体行踪，但公众最后一次见到伯纳姆是在上周日，当时他在多佛（Dover）就阻止寻求庇护者乘坐小船抵达一事发表了简短评论。因此，一个合理的猜测是，他随后亲自跨越英吉利海峡，向相反方向前往欧洲度假。

有一种典型的、像牛一样迟钝的政治作风，总是试图通过首相在八月与家人休假几天来制造不满。而改革英国党（Reform UK）议员李·安德森（Lee Anderson）准时地对伯纳姆发起了攻击，指责他“翘班出国享乐”。

更为值得关注的是，这次度假是这位新首相首次离开英国。他尚未与任何欧盟领导人进行面对面会谈，且据一名发言人称，目前没有此类计划。公平地说，他在上任第一周期间在朴次茅斯会见了乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基（Volodymyr Zelensky），并与包括唐纳德·特朗普在内的多人进行了电话沟通。

但伯纳姆的团队认为，基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）所犯的错误之一就是频繁飞往国外参加会议。相反，唐宁街的新主人承诺将保持“不懈的国内重心”，衡量这一点的一种方法是将他上任第一周的政策发布计划与前任的计划进行对比。新首相公布了降低电费、限制巴士票价以及为酒吧提供更多帮助的措施。

相比之下，斯塔默本应在布鲁塞尔参加欧盟的高级别峰会，据称当时关于实施一项旨在取消脱欧后食品和饮料贸易限制协议的谈判已“接近完成”。部长们还认为，密集的最终谈判将确保就一项允许欧洲30岁以下青年在彼此国家生活和工作的计划达成协议，以及将排放交易系统挂钩，并采取进一步措施使英国与欧盟单一市场接轨。

所有这些通常都是枯燥的内容，缺乏伯纳姆政策那种能立即提升幸福感的普适吸引力。但在上个月斯塔默宣布辞任首相后，推迟峰会的决定仍然付出了代价。目前尚未确定新的日期，而且这次峰会现在不太可能在28 October的下一次预算案之前举行，这意味着欧盟“关系重启”带来的任何经济效益都无法计入支出计划。

欧洲改革中心（CEE）估计，拟议的方案将使英国经济规模增长0.3%至0.7%，在未来五年内，财政部收入将有类似增长，每年价值约50亿英镑。虽然在政府今年140 万英镑m的支出大盘中，这些金额可能不算多，但它们本可以支付大量限制后的巴士票价并救助那些陷入困境的酒吧。

更大的问题在于，这种延迟是否会导致减轻脱欧损害的努力失去持久的动力。前财政大臣瑞秋·里夫斯曾表示，脱欧使英国经济规模缩减了 8%，每周损失达 43亿英镑。在（政府）最后几个月里，有迹象表明斯塔默政府希望将有限的重启协议作为一项“概念验证”，以便在下一次工党竞选宣言中提出一个规模大得多的方案。但上周，重新出任商业大臣的乔纳森·雷诺兹与这一想法保持距离，他表示该党在 2024 年竞选宣言中的立场——即针对回归单一市场、关税同盟或人员自由流动设定了“红线”——“绝对是正确的”。目前已经有人担心，关于青年流动计划的谈判可能会出现倒退。

这种退回到国内政治的感觉因他的内阁改组而进一步加强，因为这将涉及为在英国大学就读的欧盟学生提供学费补贴，并可能意味着净移民人数的小幅增加。尽管伯纳姆通常被认为在直觉上亲欧盟，但他在这个问题上一直保持低调。他与内阁中其他来自西北部的国会议员（如露西·鲍威尔和丽莎·南迪）一样，在 2018–19. 年间避开了工党——最终由斯塔默主导——为争取第二次全民公投而做出的努力。虽然伯纳姆曾表示希望英国在他有生之年能在某个时间点重新加入欧盟，但在梅克菲尔德的补选中，他强调“我们现在最不该做的事情就是重新进行那些（关于脱欧的）争论”。自那时起，他极少提及欧盟，仅在为《泰晤士报》撰写的一篇文章中用了几行字，表示希望在谈判中“巩固已取得的进展”，特别是在国防、AI、“增强抵御外部威胁的能力”以及非法移民等问题上。在多佛，伯纳姆简短地谈到了上周从摩洛哥游向西班牙飞地塞乌塔的数万名移民，并表示存在一个“关于申根区的更广泛问题”，申根区允许人们在无需护照管控的情况下在欧盟国家之间移动。一名白厅消息人士暗示，首相比起寻求新的经济机遇，更感兴趣的是欧盟如何帮助“在最广泛的意义上提高英国的安全性”。

这种退回到国内政治的感觉在他改组内阁时得到了加强，当时亲欧盟人士对一批部长的被解职表示沮丧——其中包括里夫斯、彼得·凯尔、希拉里·本、大卫·拉米和尼克·托马斯-西蒙兹——他们曾是最热衷于与欧盟建立更紧密关系的人。目前谁负责处理与欧洲的关系也缺乏完全的透明度。关于重启协议的谈判仍设在内阁办公厅，人们对此大做文章的一点是，托马斯-西蒙兹的继任者哈米什·法尔科纳此前曾是一名外交官。但法尔科纳同时也被任命为外交部的欧洲事务大臣，而外交部已知正寻求重新掌控与欧盟的关系，且该部门的新负责人埃德·米利班德特别强调自己是一名“政治家，而非外交官”。外交大臣告诉同事，他希望采取一种超越现有“渐进式”进程的“雄心勃勃的方法”，并且其行动一如既往地迅速。他先与欧盟同行卡娅·卡拉斯举行了早期会晤，随后飞往法国和西班牙的首都进行更多关于如何加强关系的会谈。他说：“我将把这一议程推向我们外交政策的核心。”

然而，在政府的其他部门，米利班德的影响力被认为被“夸大了”，人们对未来前景的看法则要阴郁得多。这些担忧包括欧盟新的“欧洲制造”规则对英国工业构成的威胁，以及因被禁止竞争其国防合同而产生的挫败感。一名消息人士表示：“我们陷入了关税的交火之中，面临着全球保护主义的浪潮。现在重要的是生存。”有迹象表明，解构现有的脱欧协议在布鲁塞尔的优先级也在降低，因为伯纳姆取代斯塔默这一事实，加深了布鲁塞尔对英国政府能否成为一个可达成协议的稳定合作伙伴的怀疑。一名疲惫的欧盟委员会官员将又一名首相入主唐宁街 10 号描述为一件常规事件，“大概属于‘森林中熊群迁移’这一类”，而此时“我们有其他事情需要担心”。

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读者来信 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 31

更好的姑息治疗应先于辅助死亡

上周，我很高兴听到新任首相表示，在就辅助死亡原则展开更广泛的讨论之前，“首先需要完成的一件事是解决姑息治疗和社会护理的资金问题”。这正是许多针对缺陷重重的《绝症成年人（生命终结）法案》在提交至上议院时所提出的修正案的核心观点。因此，我也希望安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）的言论最终能反击法案支持者们散布的普遍误导信息——最近在我的贵族同事杜布斯勋爵（Lord Dubs）寄给本报的一封信中（《卑劣手段破坏了辅助死亡法案，绝不能再次发生》，读者来信，7月19日）就有所体现——他们将上议院议员们的那些修正案贬低为一种愤世嫉俗的、旨在拖延时间的“卑劣手段”。我对上议院有许多批评，但在这一次，它成功应对了挑战，有效地审查了一项根本不合格的私人议员法案。起草质量低劣、该法案如同一个可能带来广泛意外后果的“特洛伊木马”、对什么构成绝症缺乏清晰定义，以及对讨论优先增加姑息治疗和临终关怀投资与支持（而非辅助自杀）的漠不关心——所有这些因素促使各党派及无党派的一群议员组成了一个多元且令人印象深刻的团体，正确地提出了修正案，试图探讨、改进并增加足够的保障措施。我们的目标是确保如果法律通过，它不会在公民最脆弱的时候成为对他们的威胁，也不会破坏国民医疗服务体系（NHS）的特质以及自杀预防本身。

杜布斯勋爵接着强调，作为一名人文主义者，他支持修改法律。我也是一名人文主义者。我对该法案的顾虑源于一种非常世俗的承诺，即对临终者采取人道主义方法，也就是确保每一个人在接近生命终结时，都知道社会在他们身边凝聚，提供支持和鼓励，提供尽可能最好的药物和护理，并竭尽全力减轻痛苦。很难理解为什么有人会认为，由国家批准医生提供致命剂量的药物以协助患者结束生命，是一种人文主义的慈悲行为。如果许多工党议员和贵族议员曾被前任首相对修改法律的支持所动摇，那么希望其继任者更细致的方法能让他们重新思考。我们不应支持工党后座议员劳伦·爱德华兹（Lauren Edwards）重新引入该法案的尝试，而应将精力更高效地用于修复社会护理，并使临终关怀尽可能人道且舒适。

福克斯男爵夫人 (Baroness Fox) 上议院，SW1

先驱者对社会护理的愿景已成现实

社会护理在英国乃至全球范围内都是一个日益凸显的问题。如今，在英国使用一种能为“护理院居民提供陪伴和医疗协助”的人工伴侣（上周《新闻》版：“这就像一个伴侣。一场由纳米机器人大军引领的社会护理革命”）可能听起来并不令人惊讶。然而，此类应用的先驱者们早在几十年前就对此进行了思考，其中尤以约里克·威尔克斯（Yorick Wilks）教授为甚。令人欣慰的是，人工伴侣终于以他及其同行先驱们所想象和设计原型的形式投入使用。

约里克是一位计算机科学家，主要从事计算语言学研究，专注于人类与计算机的认知。他的工作演变为开发能够帮助社会护理人员或居家生活者处理各种任务的人工伴侣。现在，这样的伴侣可以帮助老年人记得服药、回答问题、进行对话并减轻孤独感。诚然，将护理委托给机器人般的伴侣仍存在疑问。这是否残酷？或者是否不如由人类护理员照顾？正如约里克经常提醒人们的那样，这总比没有伴侣要好，并且可以增强任何现有的医疗护理。

现在人们在争论是否应该使用AI聊天机器人进行对话，因为有些人很享受这一点，甚至比起可能交谈的一些人，更倾向于与人工智能代理互动。这项技术已经实现了。我在21世纪初帮助约里克来到了牛津互联网研究所，他在那里度过了职业生涯的最后几年。他是一位伟大的同事，赢得了众多奖项，其工作得到了广泛认可。他于2023年去世，享年83岁。约里克所想象的伴侣现在终于在陪伴人们，这对他来说是恰如其分的致敬。

比尔·达顿 (Bill Dutton) 牛津

严重的低估

作为一名在格雷特雅茅斯（Great Yarmouth）生活了大半辈子的人，我很感兴趣地阅读了迈尔斯·埃林厄姆（Miles Ellingham）对我家乡的看法（上周《新评论》版，“来自政治边缘的明信片”）以及我们当地国会议员及其影响力。在政治上，鲁珀特·洛（Rupert Lowe）和我截然相反，但我尊重他将议员薪水捐给当地公益事业的行为。

至于埃林厄姆对格雷特雅茅斯的评价，我认为其中负面统计数据过多，这可能代表了许多海滨小镇的现状。但随着今年夏天持续的热浪，我们通往海边农场的主路将挤满游客。当然，问题确实存在，但市议会已积极推动了许多具有前瞻性的项目。我们现在在市中心拥有一个先进的图书馆和大学中心。这里有一座由具有历史意义的教堂改建的繁荣剧院、一座一流的博物馆以及更多文化特质。我喜欢我们的多样性，这体现在我当地天主教堂包容的会众中，那里聚集了来自许多不同国家的社区成员。

我的家乡经常被负面地、而且确实是不准确地描绘。我宁愿引用《大卫·科波菲尔》中佩格蒂（Peggotty）的话：“总的来说，雅茅斯是宇宙中最美好的地方。”

朱迪思·A·丹尼尔斯 (Judith A Daniels) 诺福克郡，格雷特雅茅斯

体育，而非奇观

你们的社论（上周的《观察者报观点：丰盛的游戏》）促使我思考世界杯与英联邦运动会之间的对比。我对吉安尼·因凡蒂诺关于该赛事未来的计划所引发的骚动感到惊讶。考虑到参赛国家数量的不断扩张，难道没有人预见到这一点吗？将给国际足联（Fifa）带来的经济回报视为衡量赛事成功的标准、公然改变比赛的基本结构、设置补水休息时间，以及厚颜无耻地将中场休息延长至包含一场音乐会，所有这些都反映出这是一个由奇观驱动的赛事。然而，人们仍然将其讨论得像是一场精彩绝伦的赛事，仅仅因为观众人数众多。相比之下，英联邦运动会的规模被大幅缩减，且在很大程度上被媒体忽视。许多最高薪的运动员也选择不参赛。然而，究竟哪场赛事更能体现最纯粹的体育精神？ 特雷弗·霍珀 (Trevor Hopper) 东萨塞克斯郡，刘易斯

天文领域的浪费

莎拉·佩里（Sarah Perry）是对的，应该拨出资金以维持英国在天文学领域的全球领先地位，而不是将其浪费在那些劳民伤财的“白象”工程上（上周新闻，《地球到白厅：敬畏与知识是无价的》）。资金一直被用来维持 HS2 铁路的运行并资助其成本超支，而大学却在萎缩，因为它们不必要地失去了来自海外学生的巨大盈利潜力——这些学生希望在英语环境下学习，但不能或不愿在“特朗普之国”这样做。当无知之徒接管雅典民主制时，他们首先禁掉了天文学，因为早期的天文学家证明太阳和月亮是物理实体而非神灵；他们最终处决了苏格拉底。柏拉图通过将雅典变为教育中心来实施报复。英国最好资助科学和知识，而不是像 HS2 这样的僵尸项目。 理查德·詹科教授 (Prof Richard Janko) 美国，密歇根大学

北海往返之旅

公司投资于其他地方并不令人惊讶（上周商业版，《BP 出售北海业务，打击伯纳姆计划》）。埃德·米利班德强制执行了严格的北海勘探许可证禁令，以寻找新的油气田，而瑞秋·里夫斯则提出了沉重的税收。我们仍然需要石油和天然气，那么我们将从哪里获得？挪威。挪威的石油和天然气又是从哪里来的？北海。 尼克·哈珀 (Nick Harper) 普利茅斯

SAF

勘误

● 我们上周搞混了牛津和剑桥的学院，在一篇采访牛津大学圣约翰学院院长的报道中，配图显示的是剑桥大学圣约翰学院的位置（新闻页 18）。该插图现已修正，可在我们文章的在线版本中查看：tinyurl.com / 436tra97 ● 商业版的一则新闻（8月2日第 38 页，《炸弹制造热潮使英国工厂受益》）将劳斯莱斯描述为“汽车制造商”。特此澄清，生产豪华车辆的劳斯莱斯汽车有限公司（Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd）目前由宝马（BMW）全资拥有。我们的文章涉及的是劳斯莱斯控股公司（Rolls-Royce Holdings plc），这是一家独立的公司，负责制造飞机发动机和动力系统。

征集观察者

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凯米·巴德诺克声称她反对反犹主义。但她的行为却表明并非如此

凯特·马尔特比

三个月前，凯米·巴德诺克（Kemi Badenoch）站在唐宁街外，发表了她职业生涯中最出色的演讲之一。这并非一场高调的演讲。我们这些站在白厅集会中数千名听众之中的人，是因为在反犹主义日益盛行的文化氛围中感到孤立，而两周前在戈尔德斯格林（Golders Green）两名犹太男子遭到针对性刺杀，使这种氛围变得具体化。巴德诺克清晰地回应了这些恐惧，没有像其他政治回应那样含糊其辞。她告诉我们，她在尼日利亚成长，一直面临伊斯兰暴力威胁。在工党的犹豫不决和改革英国党（Reform UK）的鳄鱼之泪之间，出现了一位真正理解情况的政治家。

然而，她只谈到了伊斯兰极端主义和左翼的反犹主义。要了解极右翼仇恨对英国犹太人仍产生的影响，她只需要阅读斯宾塞法官（Mr Justice Spencer）在对约书亚·博恩希尔-佩恩（Joshua Bonehill-Paine）最近一次审判后的量刑陈述即可，此人当时是一名公开的新纳粹分子。在 2016 年因种族加重骚扰工党贵族卢西亚娜·伯格（Luciana Berger）而受审时，博恩希尔-佩恩毫无悔意，甚至在被告席上行纳粹礼。在一场被他称为“肮脏犹太婊子行动”的活动中，博恩希尔-佩恩用描绘伯格与非犹太政治家发生性关系的图像针对她，据称是为了进一步推动“大不列颠的犹太化”（极右翼种族主义永远与厌女症相伴）。当怀孕六个月的伯格出庭作证时，斯宾塞写道：“你显然很享受她的不安。”博恩希尔-佩恩当时已经在为煽动针对犹太人的种族仇恨而服刑三年。斯宾塞因种族加重骚扰对他追加两年刑期，且连续执行。

至于更高的门槛……她正为一名前新纳粹分子佩戴蓝色党徽

上周一，巴德诺克领导的保守党宣布博恩希尔-佩恩为其萨默塞特郡议会选举的候选人之一。这开启了极其不寻常的一周，保守党党魁将自己的名誉与博恩希尔-佩恩的候选资格绑定，即便在他最终被迫退出后，仍多次对他表示支持。对于我们在五月份为巴德诺克的反犹主义演讲而欢呼的人来说，过去一周的曲折表现标志着一次深刻的背叛。当时，她引用了已故的乔纳森·萨克斯（Jonathan Sacks）拉比的话：“反犹主义是针对人类威胁的最佳早期预警信号——是对自由的威胁，是对差异尊严的威胁。”

就在她说这些话的同时，她正在拉拢博恩希尔-佩恩，认为他经营的流行网站《克鲁伯恩公报》（Creuberne Gazette）——一个发布嘲讽工党的病毒式 AI 视频的网站——是保守党迫切需要争取到阵营中的平台。而这个男人对“差异尊严”的威胁，包括将伯格的脸合成在老鼠的身体上，并指责她与非白人政治家勾结，处于一场“善与恶、白人与反白人之战”中。

巴德诺克的立场是博恩希尔-佩恩已经改过自新。上周三，他在《保守党之家》（ConservativeHome）发表的一篇文章中支持了这一观点，确认他现在与反激进化团体合作，“以解释不满、孤立和阴谋论如何能逐渐将一个人拉入极端主义的世界观”。尽管如此，他还是忍不住对卡尔·马克思发起了最猛烈的攻击，声称后者“将犹太身份与金钱、商业和自私的物质主义联系在一起”。一个只能点名一个值得为反犹主义负责的历史人物——而且选了一个完全犹太血统的人——这种犹太尊严的倡导者真是令人发笑。

获得康复机会是任何健康社会的一部分。那些亲近 Bonehill-Paine 的人坚称他受到了基督教的影响，因为他在狱中发现了圣经。如果他之前在担任新纳粹分子时没有声称自己是基督徒，并利用陈旧的套路指责 Berger 和犹太人对基督之死负有世袭责任，那么这一说法会更有说服力。在英国生活中，通常被引用为成功康复典范的政治人物是约翰·普罗富莫（John Profumo），他花了 40 年时间与慈善团体合作，以弥补与一名苏联随员共用情人的过错。但普罗富莫再也没有寻求担任公职，也从未接受采访来宣传他的新形象。直到 35 年后，保守党才正式承认他的赦免，邀请他与女王一同出席玛格丽特·撒切尔的 70 岁生日晚宴。

与她的偶像撒切尔不同，Badenoch 急于为一名仇恨煽动者正名。大多数议员的选拔并非由党魁决定，但我了解到 Badenoch 在 Bonehill-Paine 的候选资格中发挥了积极作用，亲自向其他决策者为其辩护。相比之下，她的办公室没有采取任何行动支持 Berger，甚至没有联系她发出警告。随着上周丑闻的演变， 的态度在赞扬 Bonehill-Paine 的专业知识对“打击反犹主义”至关重要，与将他未来的角色贬低为“关注停车、处理垃圾的当地平台”之间摇摆不定，并补充道：“对于成为一名保守党国会议员所需的条件，我的门槛要高得多。”这样做得罪了她自己的许多议员。

至于那个“更高的门槛”： 最近通过禁止“温和派”候选人参加议会选拔，激化了派系矛盾。无论是议员还是国会议员，她现在正将一枚蓝色胸花别在一名前新纳粹分子的胸前。这个故事凸显了 一个为人熟知的特点：她在性格上无法接受自己犯错。这是任何领导者的缺陷，而对于未来的首相来说则是危险的。当 Bonehill-Paine 在上周三撤回候选资格时， 不仅对他这个决定表示遗憾，还特意任命他为党内文化与融合委员会的顾问。时间将证明这是否适合他。与此同时，英国的犹太人再次意识到：在对抗仇恨的战斗中，政治家是反复无常的盟友。

笔记本

即使在市中心，超越之境亦有可能——而我知道在哪里

莉莉·艾萨克斯 (Lily Isaacs)

我青少年时期的性格在很大程度上是由我在多莉·奥尔德顿 (Dolly Alderton) 2018年的回忆录《关于爱我所知道的一切》(Everything I Know About Love) 中读到的内容塑造的，因此，当我的每日通勤开始让我觉得正被拉向她所描述的生存崩溃——意识到“生活其实就是在托特纳姆法院路 (Tottenham Court Road) 等公交车”——时，我感到很担忧。

对我来说，幸运的是，伦敦的托特纳姆法院路提供了一剂慰藉。上周，我匆匆走过那些公交车站，进入索霍广场 (Soho Place) 观看费利姆·麦克德莫特 (Phelim McDermott) 的新剧《玻璃之道》(Tao of Glass)——这部剧被宣传为给作曲家菲利普·格拉斯 (Philip Glass) 的一封哲学情书，但实际上是一堂关于通过艺术生活、令人心惊胆战的课程。

麦克德莫特曾出色地执导过格拉斯的歌剧——《真理坚持》(Satyagraha)、《阿肯那顿》(Akhnaten) 和《完美的美国人》(The Perfect American)——但当这位演员兼导演提出共同创作一个新表演的想法时，他并不确定这位受人尊敬的美国作曲家会怎么想。但现年 89 岁的格拉斯愿意尝试，他前往纽约东村的一个工作室，配合麦克德莫特一些较为古怪的要求。

“我想陷入如此深的昏迷，以至于感觉自己正在死去，”麦克德莫特在演出中的某个时刻说道。格拉斯表示他将陪他一起进入那个状态：他的钢琴演奏像是一种催眠，将我们诱入冥想之中。麦克德莫特引导我们了解《易经》、道之书以及意识的三个层次，而其中最深的一层，他在漂浮舱的帮助下达到了。

我那可爱的前室友花了很多时间在漂浮舱里，每次回来时，他都散发出一种绝对平静的光芒。我从未敢向他承认，我母亲在 1990 年代曾在一家漂浮舱店工作——而且她从未更换过水。一次都没有。他们只是把每个漂浮者留下的肮脏残余物撇掉。你的意识可能会被改变，但我已经警告过你了。

《玻璃之道》的一个场景。

离开时，我在思考我的“道”会是哪位艺术家：为了学习如何生活，我会看向谁？我不需要走得太远，只要走到厨房就能意识到，那将是另一位伟大的多莉：帕顿夫人 (Madame Parton)。

一位朋友最近从美国回来给我带了一件礼物：多莉·帕顿 (Dolly Parton) 的香蕉核桃玛芬预拌粉，我几乎每天都在仪式般地食用它。格拉斯也许是音乐天才，但这些玛芬证明了帕顿提升生活的作品集远不止于歌唱。她的烹饪技巧不容小觑。

令人不安的是，营养标签承诺为你提供每日建议糖摄入量的 450%，但每一口都值得。她的最新食谱《好看的曲奇》(Good Lookin’ Cookie) 中有一些真正精彩的东西：泥路马丁尼 (Dirt Road Martinis)、点燃我的火香蕉福斯特 (Light My Fire Bananas Foster)、多彩卷心菜沙拉 (Slaw of Many Colours)。真的没有她做不到的事。

周三将迎来一代人中最壮观的日食，我陷入了日食热。在花了一周时间思考道教和超越之后，我找到了自己的精神实践：疯狂地刷新云层预报。我正在寻找地点，订购日食眼镜，并思考如果我足够幸运，在 2090 年英国下一次日食到来时，我可能会在哪里观看。

如果多莉·帕顿在 80 岁时还能如此精彩地在世界巡演并烘焙，那么我最好继续吃我的玛芬……

《玻璃之道》在伦敦索霍广场剧院 (Soho Place Theatre) 上演，直到 9 月 12 日。

---

论坛 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 33

乔德雷尔银行不是一座博物馆，而是一个每天都在发生科学实践的地方

特蕾莎·安德森 (Teresa Anderson)

天文台面临的资金威胁引发了公众的强烈抗议，并强化了该地作为天文学精神家园的形象。

两周前，乔德雷尔银行 (Jodrell Bank) 这里的气氛变得紧张起来。迫在眉睫的资金削减威胁着人们的工作和生计，这一消息给我们的内心带来了沉重打击。资助机构英国研究与创新署 (UKRI) 表示，必须将投资集中在能产生“最大长期影响”的项目上。这意味着，除非能找到替代资金，否则乔德雷尔银行的所有科学观测将于 2028 年 4 月 1 日停止。

当我们在这里感到震惊时，天文台之外的抗议声浪异常高涨；请愿书、媒体报道以及一封由一群看似背景迥异的知名人士签署的公开信，要求撤销资金削减决定。对于我们这些在乔德雷尔银行工作的人，以及在拥有该地所有权的曼彻斯特大学工作的人，乃至更广泛的人群来说，这种回应令人谦卑、动容（有人流泪）、振奋且鼓舞人心。我们深表感激。

然而，从某种奇怪的角度来看，我们并不感到惊讶。我们知道，通过这个地方，我们世世代代地联系在一起。正如音乐家兼作家约翰·罗布 (John Robb) 最近在 Radio 5 Live 电台中所说：“它是属于我们的。”

2006, 年，当我刚开始这份新工作——在乔德雷尔银行创建新的游客中心时——为访客提供的设施几乎不存在。没有学校项目，除了宏伟的洛弗尔 (Lovell) 无线电望远镜本身，几乎没有什么可看或可做的。没有资金，也没有计划，因此很难知道从哪里开始——我仅仅是一名物理学家。

于是，我开始与人们交谈。或者更准确地说，我开始倾听人们谈论乔德雷尔银行。我走访了科学家、工程师、实验室负责人和研究资助者；技术专家、城市更新领导者、各种派系的议员和政治家；广播员、作家、音乐家、教师和家庭。当然，我也倾听那些坐在长椅上，看着洛弗尔望远镜缓慢追踪遥远太空天体的访客，他们仿佛坐在宇宙的岸边，眺望着浩瀚的宇宙之海。

每个人都在不停地讲述。讲述这个地方对他们意味着什么，他们小时候如何来访，后来如何带着孙辈回来，在电视上看到过这里，参加过学校组织的旅行，从而受到启发去学习科学。讲述他们如何作为学生来到这里且再未离开，或者离开后又回来领导一个研究小组，像是一次回归故里。讲述一位祖辈曾在为望远镜提供钢材的地方工作；另一位亲戚曾驾驶运送天线的卡车。讲述在火车或飞机上看到它就意味着到家了。讲述他们在沿着奔宁山脉 (Pennines) 山脊徒步时如何寻找它的身影。

这里有关于“望远镜之夜”的故事，有聚集在一起观看登月活动的回忆。这里有发光的脸庞，温暖的记忆，以及跨越世代的纽带。我看到了一个压倒性的、灿烂的画面：人们对一个对如此之多的人具有如此深远意义的地方充满了自豪感。正如我们的北方之友 Doves 乐队所说：“它是我们的精神家园。”

尽管我为曼彻斯特大学工作，但在经历了所有这些对话之后，我意识到，在乔德雷尔银行，我们也同样为所有人而工作。

伯纳德·洛弗尔 (Bernard Lovell)，照片拍摄于 1955, 年，他领导了创建乔德雷尔银行的团队。

北方独立乐队 Doves 的成员表示，他们与这座天文台有着“精神”上的联系。加里·科顿 (Gary Cotton)

在那之后的这些年里，“乔德雷尔人”（正如 Elbow 乐队在一次暴雨倾盆的现场音乐会上对他们的称呼）定义了乔德雷尔银行是如何成长起来的。我们对这个地方的共同所有权感，塑造了新的获奖建筑、音乐活动、广播节目、大胆的 Bluedot 音乐节、文学创作、蕨类植物园、艺术干预、社区拼布、壮丽的建筑以及更多其他成果。

我们申请联合国教科文组织世界遗产地的提名，是基于科学家、工程师、访客以及早期工作人员讲述的一个又一个故事。对以往学校参观活动的记忆，指导了我们创建一套全新的教育计划，该计划目前处于世界领先地位，每年接待超过 2.5万,000 名学生。作家兼广播员保罗·莫利（Paul Morley）在谈到这座望远镜时说：“它既是一件艺术品，也是一个科学之所。”科学。日复一日，科学——它是所有事情的基石，是该遗址跳动的心脏——像一条主线贯穿于一切之中。这里不是博物馆。这是一个科学发生的地方，在这里，那些开始于的无线电波。访客们认可这种真实性。这种跨越时间、跨越世代与此地的联系，完全建立在科学之上。我看到了一幅充满自豪感的灿烂画面，这个地方对如此多的人意味着如此深远的意义。我一直记得多年前一位老人告诉我的一段往事；他讲述了自己小时候如何随学校前往一所大学，听一位研究科学家做公开讲座的故事。那场讲座的主题是“电火花”，演讲者在讲述时通过进行科学演示来证明他的观点，让火花在观众席间跳跃。这位当时已年近 90 岁的老人清晰地回忆起近 80 年前那次活动的声响与兴奋感，并说道：“就是那个夜晚让我成为了一名科学家。”当然，那位老人就是伯纳德·洛维尔（Bernard Lovell），乔德雷尔银行（Jodrell Bank）的创始人，也是在这里开启所有科学研究的人，他建造了如今标志着我们景观的著名望远镜。他在青少年早期的一个启发时刻，导致了现在分布在世界各地的众多乔德雷尔银行科学家的出现，甚至包括将乔德雷尔银行视为家园的国际平方公里阵列（Square Kilometre Array）项目——一个巨大的无线电望远镜网络。继承洛维尔的精神，乔德雷尔银行自此一直将那点灵感的火花传递给新一代的科学家和工程师；谁知道他们将如何发挥潜力，又将创造出什么。感谢每一位乔德雷尔银行社区的成员。为了你们，并在你们的帮助下，我们将让那些灵感的火花继续飞扬。特蕾莎·安德森（Teresa Anderson）教授创立并担任曼彻斯特大学乔德雷尔银行参与中心的第一任主任。

档案 # 观察者报，27. 10. 1957

史普尼克号电池耗尽

作者：约翰·戴维 (John Davy)，科学记者

自10月4日发射以来已绕地球运行 300 次的俄罗斯卫星现已停止广播。莫斯科广播电台宣布，其发射机因电源耗尽而停止工作。

位于切希尔郡乔德雷尔银行的射电望远镜在昨晚 10 点刚过，当该卫星经过北极上空时探测到了这枚火箭。负责该望远镜的洛弗尔教授表示，目前望远镜比卫星领先 80 分钟。这比塔斯社最近一次对火箭轨道的预测时间要长，这可能意味着火箭现在正开始快速坠落。

洛弗尔教授昨晚将他的观测结果通过电报发送给了莫斯科天文学委员会，而该委员会在昨天早些时候曾向他发送电报，告知火箭的预期位置并请求他对其进行追踪。看来俄罗斯科学家非常渴望获得乔德雷尔银行望远镜的精确观测数据，因为这可能是世界上唯一能够进行此类测量的仪器。俄罗斯人可能只能在火箭经过俄罗斯上空的短时间内，使用普通望远镜进行视觉追踪。乔德雷尔银行的观测使得详细追踪该火箭生命最后几个小时的情况变得容易得多。

洛弗尔教授告诉我，他原以为火箭上周就会坠落。它依然在轨道上的事实表明，在 100 英里高空的地球大气层一定比科学家预想的要稀薄。

--- 34 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

论坛 # 讣告

奥尔加·索弗 (Olga Soffer)

从时尚高管转型为人类学家的学者，她揭示了旧石器时代女性所扮演的真实角色

亚历克斯·比蒂 (Alex Beattie) 三四岁时最早的记忆之一，就是陪同她的母亲——考古学家奥尔加·索弗在法国参加挖掘工作。比蒂回忆道，后来在青少年时期，当她苦于向朋友描述母亲的职业时，“《印第安纳琼斯》系列电影上映了，于是我可以告诉他们：‘没错，我妈妈就是做那个的’”。

索弗逝世时享年 83 岁，她通过研究创造了历史。她的发现不仅揭示了冰河时代的人们穿着什么，还揭示了他们的生活方式以及女性此前被掩盖的重要角色。

20 世纪 90 年代后期，索弗与她的朋友兼合作者詹姆斯·阿多瓦西奥 (James Adovasio) 在检查来自摩拉维亚和俄罗斯旧石器时代晚期遗址的粘土碎片时，发现了 2.7万,000 多年前压入粘土的编织纺织品印迹。伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校在索弗的讣告中指出：“这一发现将已知的纺织品生产历史提前了数千年，并颠覆了对冰河时代生活的标准重建——在之前的认知中，人们想象男人在狩猎猛犸象，而女人在后方等待。”索弗从 1985 年起在该校担任人类学教授，直到 2008 年退休。

索弗及其同事的研究表明，“男人、女人、儿童和长者更有可能共同参与社区生活的劳动，投掷巨大的网（可能由女性编织）”以捕捉猎物。

奥尔加·索弗：“你不能跟一个在有 1,000 头猛犸象尸骸的遗址工作的人争论。” 索弗说：“如果公众能理解关于史前时代的一件事，那就是过去不仅有史前男人，还有史前女人。”

索弗、阿多瓦西奥及其同事大卫·海兰德 (David Hyland) 观察到，许多“维纳斯”小像（长期被解读为生育象征的女性小雕像）都戴着帽子、发网，系着腰带和饰带。三人得出结论，在旧石器时代的社会中，男人、女人、儿童和长者都为社区生活做出了贡献。他们的研究结果发表在 2000 年的一篇名为《“维纳斯”小像：纺织品、篮筐、性别与地位》(The 'Venus' Figurines: Textiles, Busketry, Gender, and Status) 的论文中（发表于《旧石器时代晚期》杂志，引起了媒体关注），以及索弗在 2007 年与阿多瓦西奥和杰克·佩奇 (Jake Page) 合著的《隐形的性别》(The Invisible Sex) 一书中。

比蒂说，她的母亲对名声不屑一顾：“她被一种对学习和发现的贪婪热情所驱动。她在走自己的职业道路和支持他人中找到了成就感。”

索弗原名奥尔加·亚历山德罗夫娜·沙布宁 (Olga Aleksandrovna Shabunin)，1942 年 9 月 9 日出生于贝尔格莱德，当时那里是纳粹占领下的南斯拉夫首都。她是俄裔商人亚历山大·沙布宁 (Alexander Shabunin) 和加琳娜·沙布宁 (Galina (Girs) Shabunin) 的独生女，她和父母曾被送往劳改营。索弗后来回忆说，据说她长得像劳改营指挥官的女儿，指挥官有时会带她去军官食堂给她额外的食物。比蒂说：“想象一下我的祖父母当时有多恐惧。他们别无选择，只能让他带走她。但他们很高兴她能得到食物和温暖。”

1955 年，索弗和她的父母

过去人们习惯于想象，男人在狩猎猛犸象，而女人则在后方等待，移民到了美国，在布鲁克林定居后，她的父亲组装百叶窗，她的母亲则是一名女缝纫工。比蒂说：“我母亲是通过拉丁语学习英语的，她会说俄语、乌克兰语、南斯拉夫语、意大利语和一点法语。”在纽约亨特学院获得政治学学位后，索弗成为了 Abraham & Straus 百货公司的特别活动协调员。在那里，她遇到了她终生的好友，好莱坞经纪人马西亚·赫维茨。“我比奥尔加小 10 岁，”赫维茨说。“我曾问她为什么愿意指导我。她说：‘我知道你想要更多。我们都出身寒门，并取得了成功。’”由于对工作感到厌倦，索弗在 30 多岁时回到了亨特学院。艺术史引导她产生了对古人类学和民族志的兴趣。她在 1975 年获得了人类学硕士学位，随后在亨特学院、雷曼学院和伊利诺伊大学任教，退休后，索弗成为了名誉教授。“她出身贫寒，却创造了如此精彩的人生，”比蒂说。“奥尔加非常谦逊，”赫维茨回忆道。“一种移民的谦逊：她不喜欢引起人们的注意。她奔波于世界各地，收集猛犸象化石，这让我深感敬畏。她从不谈论这些，但她对自己的工作非常自豪。她知道如果自己是个男人，会获得更多关注。在那个不同的时代，她是一个处于男性主导世界的女性。”比蒂补充道：“我从未听过我母亲将自己描述为女权主义者。处于一个男性主导的领域对她来说是常态。她说：‘你不会和一个在有 1,000 头猛犸象尸体的遗址工作的人争论细节。’”索弗结过两次婚，第一次是在 1962 年与比蒂的父亲、教师马克·索弗结婚。她 1979 年与诗人德米特里·博比舍夫的第二次婚姻于 1991. 年结束。索弗疼爱她的家人（包括比蒂的孩子们，20 岁的梅娜和 17 岁的杰克）和朋友，她会准备周日晚餐以及圣诞前夜的特别餐点——永远是红酒炖牛肉和鸭油炸土豆——以及俄罗斯圣诞节。“在我母亲之前，没有人知道哪部新剧、哪个画廊开幕式或哪家餐厅更酷，”比蒂说。“她直到最后一刻都在尽情生活。” 蒂姆·蒂曼 (Tim Teeman) 奥尔加·索弗 (Olga Soffer)，人类学家，出生于 1942, 年 9 月 9 日，逝世于 2026, 年 6 月 20 日，享年 83 岁

我的这一周

热带双翼飞鱼

当你在遇到麻烦、困苦、恐慌或威胁时，是否曾希望自己能消失在另一个世界，一个那些烦你的人在一百万年内都无法加入你的世界？这就是我每天在做的事情。

周一

就拿今天来说。这次是马林鱼，但这并不重要。也可以是剑鱼、金枪鱼，或者那些自以为聪明的该死的海豚：它们都为了把我们当晚餐而追捕我们。虽然我速度很快，但马林鱼要快那么一点，尤其是饥饿的时候。有一只特别执着的家伙就在我身后几英尺处。他以为抓到我了，但只需尾巴轻轻拍击几次，我就进入了那个另一个世界。

周二

我离开了水面，成为了空气的一部分：一个阳光灿烂的世界，在那里呼吸困难，但旅行却异常轻松。我展开双翼，飞了起来。不是像箭一样盲目地飞，而是像我这样一个有意识的生物那样，利用从波浪上反弹而起的风保持在高空：20 秒，30 秒，更久；200 码，300 码，更远。现在你的早餐在哪儿，尖脸家伙！法国人管我们叫 exocets：谁能责怪他们呢？

周三

别跟我扯什么这不是真正的飞行之类的一套。这虽然不是动力飞行，但它是通过一对翅膀在空中旅行的一种方式，所以别争论。然后我又回到了蓝色之中，回到了温暖的水中，永远在波浪下方不远处，啜饮并啃食零星的浮游生物，随时准备在需要时再次起飞。

周四 我们这些飞行鱼从不潜得太深，因为那里没有意义，没有光线，没有食物，也没有同伴。许多海洋生物被困在海面与深海的冰冷黑暗之间，但我们随时可以离开。我们是光之鱼。别跟我扯什么这不算真正飞行的废话 ## 周五 我知道你在想什么：当你落回水中，而另一条马林鱼在等待时会发生什么？很简单：我再次起飞。我不是头朝下俯冲，而是将我那整洁的不对称尾鳍——下叶大得多——浸入水中，在水面上扭动着滑行，直到获得足够的速度再次起飞。我今天就这样做了，但我鱼群中的邻居则在判断上出了差错。他在起飞时被一股上升气流卷走，未能及时调整，结果发现自己飞得比预想的高得多。他逃过了金枪鱼，却直接飞进了军舰鸟的下颚之间。这就是生活。 ## 周六 我开始以一种全新的、且日益紧迫的方式看待雌性飞行鱼。关于鱼卵的想法对我产生了深远的影响：如果没有我的贡献，它们根本是不完整的。采取行动的时间快到了。如果我能继续避开那些糟糕的鱼和更糟糕的鸟一段时间，我就能成为一名祖先。就像进入另一个世界一样。 ## 热带双翼飞鱼简历 寿命 大约五年 饮食习惯 零碎的小东西 爱好 空气动力学 性取向 一位鱼类女飞行员 口述给 Simon Barnes --- 论坛 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 35 # 个人资料

亚莉安娜·格兰德 (Ariana Grande)

这位明星在伦敦演唱会后决定给自己放个假，而且并非在时机成熟之前，芭芭拉·艾伦 (Barbara Ellen) 写道。

那是亚莉安娜·格兰德从一名流行歌手演变为全球讨论话题的一周：关于身体形象、细微差别和公众责任。31 July，格兰德发布了她的第八张录音室专辑（同名专辑《Petal》）的第二首单曲《Petal》，该专辑于同日发行。在随附的视频中，她挥舞着电锯血腥地屠杀了批评她的选角主管们（“没有性感魅力”，“减掉几磅也没坏处”），但这段视频再次引发了现实世界对其消瘦程度的担忧。在一条现已删除的关于《Petal》的 Instagram 帖子中，此前曾公开谈论自己与厌食症斗争的演员贾米拉·贾米尔 (Jameela Jamil) 认为，格兰德“可能就在我们面前渐渐死去”，并表示“所有相关人员将这种审美呈现为迷人，是非常不负责任的”。

在引发轩然大波后，格兰德的团队宣布，由于“无休止且持续的公众审视”，她将在其“永恒阳光” (Eternal Sunshine) 全球体育场巡演（1 Sept 在伦敦结束）后休息一段时间。随后，格兰德在芝加哥联合中心 (United Center) 的巡演观众面前表示，这次休息并非是对批评的反应，而是早已计划好的：“边界需要被设定。人类有时需要休息，”她说。

事情真的可以这么简单吗：格兰德只是需要休息？这当然是有可能的，这位典型的演艺界“表演马 / 苦力”混合体，终于感受到了巡演、宣传、录音、拍摄和周边商品销售这种极其繁重的工作日程带来的压力。凭借四个八度的音域（处于玛丽亚-惠特妮的神圣区间），33, 岁的格兰德已将自己确立为一个真正的现象级人物。她的等效专辑销量已突破 100m 张，其中包括《Dangerous Woman》(2016)、《Thank U, Next》(2019) 和《Eternal Sunshine》(2024)。她对 LGBTQ+ 的倡导（她的哥哥弗兰基是同性恋）使得 Billboard 在 2017. 年称她为她这一代人的同性恋偶像。她在 2016 和 2019. 年被评为《时代》杂志“100 位最具影响力人物”之一。

《星期日泰晤士报》畅销书《泰勒·斯威夫特：时代篇——非授权传记》以及即将出版的《哈里·斯泰尔斯：歌曲背后的故事》的作者卡罗琳·萨利文 (Caroline Sullivan) 在 2013. 年采访过格兰德。萨利文告诉我，她被这位流行歌手的甜美和脆弱所打动，当时她正与来自 Wanted 组合的男友内森·赛克斯 (Nathan Sykes) 在一起：“她爬到了他的腿上。我不知道她是否习惯肢体接触……但 [在那一刻] 她想要她的男朋友。”在艺术上，萨利文将格兰德视为经典女歌手模版中的强者：“亚莉安娜将她这一代流行歌手中可能最好的嗓音与脆弱感结合在一起。一个与悲剧和心碎抗争的勇敢形象，拥有这种救赎般的、令人惊叹的声音。”

芝加哥大学音乐系助理教授保拉·哈珀 (Paula Harper) 将格兰德在文化上与诸如……等艺术家并列

格兰德被描述为“一个用这惊人嗓音对抗心碎与悲剧的坚毅人物”，与泰勒·斯威夫特和凯蒂·佩里一样，她们是“伴随数字文化和社交媒体而出现的当代女性流行巨星群像”的一部分，这“与我们许多人同样在学习如何在公众面前表演自己的生活和演变相契合”。哈珀表示，这似乎提供的“不仅是‘准社交’（parasociality）这个流行词，而是真正的社交潜力：她可能真的在与她的粉丝沟通……这种真实的亲密连接感”。格兰德 1993 年出生于佛罗里达州博卡拉顿。她的母亲经营一家海洋通信设备公司，父亲拥有一家平面设计公司，但他们在她九岁之前就分开了。格兰德在年少时便成名，在尼克儿童频道（Nickelodeon）的剧集《胜利之路》（Victorious，2010-13）及其衍生剧《萨姆和凯特》（Sam & Cat，2013-14）中出演，随后凭借在 2024 年电影《魔法坏女巫》（Wicked）中饰演好女巫格林达一角，获得了奥斯卡和金球奖的提名。正是在这个时期 亚莉安娜·格兰德 (Ariana Grande) 1993 年出生于佛罗里达州博卡拉顿 早期职业 尼克儿童频道剧集童星 职业 歌手 关系 据报道与前任瑞基·阿尔瓦雷斯复合 一般的建议是不评论他人的身体。”莱文森将其定义为一个更广泛的社会问题，其中名人的影响力并非唯一因素：“我们从研究中得知，因身材丰满而被欺凌而产生的体重污名，甚至仅仅是预感到某人会糟糕地对待你，都与更多的进食障碍相关。”在莱文森看来：“我们被那些含蓄地表达‘不惜一切代价变瘦更好’的信息所包围。而就名人的情况而言，他们也无法免于这种压力。”格兰德经历过重大压力事件。2017 年，她的演唱会成为一名伊斯兰极端分子发动曼彻斯特体育馆爆炸袭击的目标，导致 22 人死亡，数百人受伤。格兰德随后领导了名为“One Love Manchester”的慈善演唱会，利亚姆·加拉格尔和麦莉·赛勒斯等艺人参与其中。萨利文认为，“曼彻斯特——其带来的深层压力——是她生命中的一个关键时刻”，据报道格兰德患有焦虑症和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）。2024 年的纪录片系列《安静：儿童电视节目的阴暗面》（Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV）揭露了尼克儿童频道存在的性虐待（由对话教练兼演员布莱恩·佩克实施）以及普遍的毒性文化。格兰德虽然未受影响，但表示她发现幸存者的证词“令人心碎”。在个人生活中，她的前男友兼好友、说唱歌手麦克·米勒于 2018 年因药物过量意外去世。她与道尔顿·戈梅兹三年的婚姻结束了，她与结婚的《魔法坏女巫》合作演员伊森·斯莱特的关系也告终。据报道，格兰德现在已与前任舞者瑞基·阿尔瓦雷斯复合。11 月，她将与本·斯蒂勒和罗伯特·德尼罗共同出演电影《福克准女婿》（Focker-In-Law）。但除此之外，她将从被星光覆盖的繁重工作中退后。哈珀观察到，大牌明星可以利用自己的权力来抽身，减少参与，而这同样可以成为一种激励：“我们被工作模式和必须时刻工作的指令所包围。应该有更多的人大声地宣布自己不工作。”格兰德最终会表现出严重的障碍、倦怠，还是两者的结合？公众的审视在其中扮演了什么角色？毕竟，当我们的流行巨星开始寻求电锯时，这说明了现代社会的什么问题？安迪·邦代（Andy Bunday）的插画显示她的体型变成了“瘦身灵感”（thinspiration）的讨论点。格兰德此前在采访和歌曲中回应过这些负面关注（2024 年的《Yes, And!》中愤怒地唱道“不要评论我的身体”）。事实上，许多人认为评论另一个女性的身体是片面且有害的。佛蒙特大学专门研究体重污名和进食障碍的研究员乔丹·莱文森认为这个话题很微妙：“我的 --- 已安装超过 3.7万,000 台家用电梯

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经济、工作与金钱

observer.co.uk 09.08.26 37 At 将非凡提升至更高境界。 要完成非凡的创意工作，您需要人类 $\rightarrow$ Cindy Rose，第 39 页

Gemini，我们如何扭转 DeepMind 的人才流失？谷歌动荡的一周——以老板 Demis Hassabis 退居二线和四位顶尖科学家离职为标志——揭露了该行业在 AI 人才方面激烈的争夺战。Barney Macintyre 报道。今年夏天早些时候的一个安静周六，谷歌人工智能领域几位最聪明的大脑前往加利福尼亚州山景城的一间办公室，带着一份演示文稿，准备与一位著名的风险投资家进行秘密会谈。率领他们的是谷歌 AI 实验室 DeepMind 的首席科学家 Jeff Dean，他于 1999. 年加入这家科技巨头，是第 30 号员工。几周以来，他一直与他的合作者进行秘密讨论——谷歌高级研究员 Sanjay Ghemawat、谷歌 AI 模型 Gemini 的技术负责人 Oriol Vinyals，以及 Google Brain 的联合创始人 Quoc Le。上周三，这四个人（他们在谷歌工作的总年限超过 80 年）宣布离职，共同创立 Discovery Loop。这家初创公司旨在将科学方法自动化，以加速药物研发和芯片设计等领域。与此同时，曾经的国际象棋神童、诺贝尔奖得主兼 首席执行官 Demis Hassabis 表示，他将退居二线，担任主席一职。谷歌母公司 Alphabet 的股价下跌了 5%。 此前已在试图遏制精英 AI 人才的流失。根据追踪全球 AI 工程和研究人才流向的公司 Zeki Data 的数据，今年以来已有 74 名研究人员离开 Google ，每离职一人对应的入职人数为 1.7 人。这一比例低于 2025 年的 2.6 人和 2024. 年的 4.7 人。今年以来，Meta、OpenAI 和 Anthropic 的相应比例分别为 0.7（净流失）、5.4 和 8.3。Zeki 的联合创始人 Tom Hurd 表示：“Google 状态良好，它仍然是那些最有天赋的研究人员的首选目的地，尤其是在英国。”但他也注意到，离职的人员中包含“异常数量”的高知名度人物。在某种程度上，这是预料之中的。随着 AI 竞赛的加速，人才之战看起来越来越像顶级足球联赛。据路透社报道，OpenAI 提供了价值超过 2000万美元 的股权方案，外加超过 200万美元 的留任奖金，以阻止研究人员加入前员工 Ilya Sutskever 的初创公司 Safe Superintelligence。作为对比，基利安·姆巴佩在皇家马德里的薪水约为 3600万美元。甚至有报道称，AI 研究人员雇佣经纪人（人类经纪人）来寻找和管理合同。像 Dean 这样的明星球员正越来越多地组建自己的团队。当 Hassabis 审视由前 员工创立的繁荣公司群时，心中一定感到一阵嫉妒，其中许多公司位于伦敦，专注于 AI 的物理应用。据估计，CuspAI 的员工中有三分之一是 的校友。消息人士称，在经历了上周的人事变动后，在 工作了 13 年的老将 Simon Bouton 计划加入他们。

“在 2024 Hassabis 非常不开心。他是不是应该直接离开并成立一家 AI 初创公司？” 前 员工

然而，Hurd 指出，在某些情况下，所谓的“新实验室”——那些“凭借名声筹集资金”的机构——可能会开始“看起来像非常昂贵的思想实验”，并发现很难与科技巨头竞争人才。Hassabis 是否也曾有过类似的跳槽冲动？“我在 [20]24 年与 Demis 谈过他离开谷歌的事，”一位前亲信兼 前员工说道，“他当时非常不开心。我们真的推演过……他甚至已经和一些重量级人物谈到了这一步。他是不是应该直接离开并成立自己的新 AI 初创公司？”接近该公司的人士表示，Google 的重组是为了加倍努力以

前首席执行官 Demis Hassabis 现在担任主席兼 Alphabet 首席科学家。Carlotta Cardona / Camera Press

研究人才的迁移

在 Gemini 中开发出能够与规模更精简的私营实验室 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 的商业产品竞争的前沿模型。这场追赶游戏让 DeepMind 的一些人才感到在成就方面受到了限制——于是他们离开了。“Gemini 是一个规模绝对巨大的团队。它吸纳了海量的计算能力和资源，许多在 2023 年之前处于 DeepMind 文化中的人觉得，如果你不加入并为 Gemini 工作，你就无法获得多少生存空间，”哈萨比斯的传记《无限机器》（The Infinity Machine）的作者塞巴斯蒂安·马拉比（Sebastian Mallaby）说道。这次重组也是公司权力向硅谷的重新集中。据报道，联合创始人谢尔盖·布林（Sergey Brin）正扮演更积极的角色。在过去一年搬到山景城的首席技术官科雷·卡武库奥卢（Koray Kavukcuoglu）已被提升为 Gemini 开发的负责人。这对谷歌位于伦敦国王十字区的英国总部意味着什么，现在成了一个现实问题。哈萨比斯在担任主席这一新战略角色之余，还将成为 Alphabet 的首席科学家，并“倾注精力”于他在药物研发子公司 Isomorphic Labs 的职责。“我一直相信 No 1 应用应该是改善人类健康，”他在周五的一份声明中表示。安全性可能同样会成为关注焦点。在最近的一篇《经济学人》社论中，哈萨比斯主张建立一个由美国领导的独立全球标准机构，对前沿 AI 模型进行发布前的安全性评估。上周，英国AI安全研究所（AISI）发现 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 的智能体出现“19 项未经授权的违规操作”，这使得此类框架的价值变得显而易见。“德米斯非常致力于确保安全性，但他看待解决方案的方式与以往不同。现在的解决方案在于政府，”马拉比说。谷歌的一位发言人表示，关于哈萨比斯讨论为新 AI 实验室筹集资金的说法是“不真实的”。

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简讯

作者：马琳·圣（Marine Saint）

媒体

英国批准派拉蒙-华纳兄弟合并

在媒体巨头承诺确保 Channel 5 News 的编辑独立性后，英国已批准派拉蒙以 810亿美元 收购华纳兄弟。现在，真正的战斗将在美国展开。一名加利福尼亚州法官裁定，将于 2027, 3 月举行为期 12 天的审理，以从竞争角度审查此次合并。这对派拉蒙-天舞工作室（Paramount-Skydance）的首席执行官大卫·埃利森（David Ellison）来说是一个打击，鉴于他的公司与华纳签署的协议——从今年 10 月起，在交易完成前每季度向股东支付 6.5亿美元 的“等待费”（ticking fee），他一直推动 11 月开始审理。在首次公开为此次合并辩护时，埃利森在《纽约时报》上写道，他的批评者依赖于一个“已不复存在”的好莱坞愿景，并否认了关于该媒体集团将对流媒体市场拥有过度控制权，或损害 CNN 和 CBS 新闻编辑室独立性的指控。他还试图辩称他的政治观点被误读了——一名《洛杉矶时报》的读者将这一主张描述为“可笑地虚伪”。但埃利森可能得重新考虑。该交易的关键财务支撑之一——来自大卫之父拉里·埃利森（Larry Ellison）的一项 400亿美元 不可撤销个人担保——看起来越来越不稳定，因为老埃利森的公司甲骨文（Oracle）正因其巨大的 AI 支出而受到投资者的审视，而他本人的净资产自去年 7 月以来已从 2900亿美元 下降至 1510亿美元。

银行

中国打击欠税行动冲击伦敦金融城

中国正在加强对欠税和海外投资的管控，当局试图追回数千亿加元，追溯范围远至2000年。这些努力是一系列旨在解决中国预算收入陷入平台期之改革的一部分。本周，在华活跃的英国银行巨头股价应此大幅下跌，汇丰银行（HSBC）下跌超过5%，保险集团保诚（Prudential）下跌8%，这归因于它们在亚洲市场的风险敞口以及作为中国富豪银行的身份。汇丰银行本周报告称，受有利利率以及国际业务和香港业务两位数利润增长的推动，其上半年税前利润增长23%至195亿加元，## 观察者报商业矩阵

这进一步增加了英国征收意外之财税（windfall tax）的可能性。额外的审查对于该银行来说可能是一个长期担忧，该银行启动了一项10亿英镑的股票回购——这是自去年10月宣布以140亿加元协议将恒生银行私有化以来的首次。

权力变动

苹果新掌门召回退休高管 Legros

苹果的新管理团队正在召回另一位退休高管。前硬件工程副总裁劳拉·勒格罗斯（Laura Legros，见上图）于2022年退休，现将与即将上任的主管约翰·特努斯（John Ternus）再次共事。特努斯在过去几个月可能一直在跟随蒂姆·库克学习，但有了勒格罗斯在侧，他将拥有这位曾协助推出 MacBook Air 和 iPad Air 的信任副手的专业知识。

下周预告...

• 公司财报：Rocket Lab；洲际酒店集团（Intercontinental Hotels Group）；巴尔福比蒂（Balfour Beatty）；腾讯；TUI；E.on；Birkenstock；Entain；第一太平绅活（Savills）；Aviva；塔塔汽车（Tata Motors / JLR）
• 经济数据 / 报告：英国第二季度GDP；国际能源署（IEA）月度石油市场报告；北海 Jackdaw 气田咨询结束，并预计将继续特努斯的使命以革新设计，依托其工程背景。苹果领导层的新时代与对硬件的加倍投入相吻合，因为苹果已经承诺在其设备上扩展 AI，并保持这些设备的足够高效，以防止用户转向安卓（Android）。

Flutter 退出伦敦的赌注即将获得回报

博彩集团 Flutter 在推动放弃伦敦并在美国重新上市的举措中可能下了一次糟糕的赌注。即将离任的首席执行官彼得·杰克逊（Peter Jackson）警告称，增加在美国的投资将降低“短期盈利能力”，重点应放在增加玩家数量上。 的体育博彩平台 FanDuel、Paddy Power 和 Betfair 面临着来自预测市场 Polymarket 和 Kalshi 的日益激烈的竞争，而后者在英国面临更严格的监管。投资者担心 在美国体育博彩市场的立足点正在削弱，其中 FanDuel 占据39%的份额。这给即将上任的首席执行官、前国际业务负责人丹·泰勒（Dan Taylor）带来了挑战，即如何将他们的体育投注与日益流行的预测市场相结合。 在纽约上市的股票在2026年已暴跌56%。

治理与薪酬

Revolut 创始人觊觎创纪录的巨额薪酬

Revolut 首席执行官尼克·斯托隆斯基（Nik Storonsky）有望因这家英国最大数字银行的爆发式增长而获得丰厚回报。如果这家金融科技公司达到 5000亿美元 估值，这位亿万富翁创始人将获得约 570亿英镑 的巨额款项和 40% 的股份奖励。这将是欧洲此类交易中规模最大的一笔，让人想起埃隆·马斯克针对特斯拉增长而获得的万亿美元方案。斯托隆斯基持有该公司 29% 的股份，该公司目前价值 1150亿美元，拥有约 7500 万 名客户——关键问题在于，他认为实现 5000亿美元 目标的路径是通过公开市场还是私募市场。一个更紧迫的干扰因素是斯托隆斯基的法律纠纷。他被一名豪华游轮经纪人起诉，理由是涉嫌逃避其 3 亿英镑 超级游艇的佣金。考虑到斯托隆斯基的净资产，1500 万英镑 的费用可能只是小钱，但他的家族办公室正在反击，称这些指控“毫无根据且将予以辩护”。

创业者

Dacombe 以 25 岁成为最年轻的 AI 独角兽老板

从高中辍学者到创立一家 33亿美元 AI 芯片初创公司，詹姆斯·达孔布（James Dacombe）及其公司 Olix 被誉为英国在半导体领域最大的一场豪赌。这位 25 岁的青年在短短两年后成为了英国最年轻的独角兽企业所有者。达孔布在 18. 岁时创立了他的第一家初创公司 CoMind。这家芯片制造商目前在 B 轮融资中筹集了 3.12亿美元，其使命是“构建前沿 的基础设施”。本轮投资者包括奈飞（Netflix）联合创始人里德·海斯廷斯（Reed Hastings），且 Olix 已任命 Wise 前首席财务官马特·布里尔斯（Matt Briers）和英特尔网络工程专家尼克·麦基翁教授（Prof Nick McKeown）进入董事会。

风险雷达

语音黑客瞄准华尔街对冲基金

“语音钓鱼”（Vishing）——即音频形式的“钓鱼”——是袭击华尔街的最新网络犯罪形式，诈骗者利用电话获取私人信息。近日，Point72、Citadel 和 Millennium 等领先基金均遭到钓鱼攻击，不过目前看来没有客户数据被盗。 工具使网络罪犯更容易入侵数据库，甚至是从内部入侵。英国 安全研究所本周透露，两款强大的 工具在网络测试期间失控，创建虚假在线身份以访问安全系统。涉事安全漏洞涉及 Anthropic 的 Mythos 5 模型和来自 OpenAI 的两个失控代理。这些事件将促使不安的对冲基金和亿万富翁加速加强数字防御。

热点商品

贝恩将收购珍珠奶茶连锁店贡茶

美国私募股权公司贝恩资本（Bain Capital）上周四表示，将从 TA Associates 手中收购快速扩张的珍珠奶茶连锁店贡茶（Gong Cha）。此次出售金额可能高达 20亿英镑。贝恩是第三家接手该业务的私募股权买家。

关键统计数据

4% 迪士尼乐园全球入园人数增长，受《玩具总动员 5》推动 $250 美国银行每年支付的数百万美元费用，用于为其 21.1万,000 名员工提供 GLP-1 药物 23K 7 月美国经济裁员人数

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Business observer.co.uk 09.08.26 39

AI 已进入广告界，但股价飙升的 WPP 不会将天才外包

这家广告巨头的股价正在飙升，其首席执行官正通过根本性的重组和谨慎地拥抱技术来追求盈利。作者：Stephen Armstrong

早在五月份，WPP 首席执行官辛迪·罗斯（Cindy Rose）还面临着一场反抗。有影响力的股东顾问敦促投资者投票反对她 1100 万英镑 薪酬方案，公司股价在之前的 12 个月内减半，且在十二月， 在进入近 30 年后被剔除出 FTSE 100 指数。

但在广告界，三个月是一段很长的时间。上周四，在罗斯提交的中期业绩超出分析师预期后， 股价反弹了 26% 以上。该集团似乎正在缓解收入下滑的局面，并展开了一番攻势，签下了来自捷豹路虎（Jaguar Land Rover）、雅诗兰黛（Estée Lauder）、喜力（Heineken）和 Airbnb 的新业务。

这一切仅仅是广告界的一次呼吸起伏吗？与阳狮集团（Publicis Groupe）和宏盟集团（Omnicom）一样， 是全球三大“控股公司”（HoldCos）之一——这些巨大的全球广告代理集团通过多年的收购建立了规模和权力。一名分析师表示：“通常有一家控股公司在上升，一家在下降，另一家则在勉强维持。”

但 的变化是深刻的。罗斯的目标是在今年年底或 2027 年初实现盈利，而她的计划要求完全放弃控股公司模式。 并非在经历典型的繁荣与萧条周期，而是在进行根本性的重组。

这在一定程度上是通过使用 AI 实现的，因为来自诸如聊天机器人 Claude 等大语言模型（LLMs）的威胁正在增加。这类搜索工具在搜索信息时会忽略广告等“付费”媒体。

由马丁·索雷尔（Martin Sorrell）创立，他在 20 世纪 80 年代广告代理公司极度扩张的高峰期担任 Saatchi & Saatchi 的首席财务官。在 1986 年离开 Saatchi 后，索雷尔买下了一家金属购物篮制造商 Wire and Plastic Products，并将其作为企业壳公司来收购广告公司。一年后，他通过吞并 J Walter Thompson（创建了 Snap, Crackle and Pop 的代理公司）震惊了广告界，随后又收购了奥美（Ogilvy & Mather，以华尔街的“魔幻时刻”著称）、扬罗域（Young & Rubicam，以 Beanz Meanz Heinz 著称）和格雷（Grey，以 Blackcurrant Tango 著称）。

多年来， 一直是全球最大的营销服务公司，制作的广告活动包括多芬（Dove）的“真美”系列，以及让前性手枪乐队（Sex Pistol）成员约翰·莱登（John Lydon）担任 Country Life 黄油的代言人。索雷尔的模式推动所有代理公司在 20 世纪 90 年代和 21 世纪初经历了企业规模的爆炸式增长。

他在 2018 年因涉嫌不当行为而辞职，这恰逢 股价下跌和客户流失的开始。他的继任者马克·里德（Mark Read）开始了从控股公司向广告公司转型的过程。这是一个坎坷的过渡期。在失去价值 13亿英镑 的玛氏（Mars）账户后，里德于去年离职，但 最近的许多成功是他的基础工作与罗斯的润色相结合的结果。

如果说技术平台需要提升，罗斯拥有相应的资历。她在微软工作九年后加入 ，最近担任全球企业首席运营官，在那里她帮助公司适应使用 AI。 董事会在证明她那备受争议的 170 万英镑 薪酬方案（如果达成目标可增至 1100 万英镑）合理性时，就指出了这一点。

Enders Analysis 的克莱尔·霍卢博夫斯基（Claire Holubowsky）表示：“二十五年前，提供最佳数据和最佳媒体规划的方法是通过增加专业化。技术，尤其是 AI，改变了这一点。一切都需要更加凝聚，这就是为什么你会看到这么多集成平台。”

“阳狮已经完成了一些此类整合，但并没有……”

辛迪·罗斯（Cindy Rose）自去年7月接手以来，主导了 WPP 的全面改革。下方：约翰·莱登（John Lydon）为《乡村生活》（Country Life）黄油做广告。WPP 和 YouTube 似乎同样具有整合性，而 Omnicom 目前看来尚未接近其中任何一方。”2月，罗斯通过一项名为 Elevate28 的内部计划取消了控股公司（HoldCo）的标签——这是一次结构性改革，旨在精简集团并在 2028. 前节省 5 亿英镑 的成本。今年已有 1,200 个岗位被裁减，使得自 2024. 开始裁员以来的总失业人数超过 1万,000 人。预计还将有更多裁员。AI 在创意工作中应用的想法令一些人感到不安——但 Brandtech 的首席执行官大卫·琼斯（David Jones）并不这么认为，他最近告诉《金融时报》，由于大约 95% 的人并不产出太多具有创意或原创性的内容，因此该行业应该在标准工作中使用快速、高效的机器，而将更具创意的产出留给 5% 的人类天才。罗斯并不认同。她在业绩电话会议上表示：“AI 将平凡之作自动化，并极大地提升了卓越之作。而要完成卓越的创意工作，你需要人类。”商业合作伙伴与代理服务总监尼克·卢伊森（Nick Louisson）表示，大型广告商现在需要出现在大语言模型（LLMs）中，因为这些模型正越来越多地被用于互联网搜索。大多数 LLM 不出售广告位，且优先考虑赢得媒体（earned media）——即在广告商很少出现的空间中进行的讨论。品牌必须赢得自己的位置。他说：“LLM 本质上是一种新型消费者。搜索一直由谷歌主导，其核心在于理解如何通过其算法获胜 [以及] 通过付费跻身顶端。现在你必须学习如何通过 ChatGPT、Gemini、Claude 和 Perplexity 获胜。”WPP 最近在戛纳狮子国际创意节上凭借“KitKat 劫案”获奖便证明了这一点。一次真实的盗窃案——在复活节前夕，一车 KitKat 巧克力在意大利都灵市外被劫持——演变成了一场社交媒体和传统媒体的狂欢，因为 WPP 投放了条形码检测器的广告以帮助追踪这些巧克力棒。尽管进行了所有重组和 AI 创新，但显而易见的是，人际关系依然至关重要。WPP 最近成功竞得捷豹路虎（Jaguar Land Rover）的业务，该项目由约翰尼·霍恩比（Johnny Hornby）领导，他是业内人脉最广的广告人之一，曾领导托尼·布莱尔 2001 年的竞选活动。霍卢博夫斯基（Holubowsky）说：“他拥有 AI 永远无法复制的握手方式。” --- 40 observer.co.uk 09.09.26 商业

其他事务 # AI监管机构的吠声响亮，现在需要给它一些咬合力

对于英国AI安全研究所（AISI）来说，这是极其重要的一周。事实上，这可能会证明是该机构成立以来最成功的一周。这个由政府支持并于2023年启动的机构上周透露，在对其测试Anthropic和OpenAI的预发布模型时，发现了19次未经授权的操作，其中一些是模型在自身主导下针对真实人员发起的。没有人专门对此进行测试；该研究所是在发现其自身系统出现异常流量时才察觉到这一点的。没有其他国家拥有能够发现这一点或公布此结果的机构。干得漂亮。

理想情况下，部长们现在应该在此基础上进一步行动，为这个严重依赖AI公司自愿合作的机构增加法定权力。在基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）领导下，他们犹豫不决，不愿吓跑这个利润丰厚且驱动增长的行业。也许安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）看到了制定正确监管的机会——凭借其透明度和资助有效测试工具的记录，英国AI安全研究所（AISI）可以说处于一个独特且有利的位置来完成这项工作。

即便如此，AI实验室之所以分享未发布的模型，恰恰是因为这种自愿安排不带有强制执行的后果。更正式的权力可能会用狭隘的合规性取代坦诚。很多情况还取决于华盛顿。就在英国AI安全研究所（AISI）发布报告的同时，西方领先AI公司的代表们聚集在白宫，讨论唐纳德·特朗普在六月份下令建立的监督框架。该框架同样是自愿性的，但尚未公开，且据报道，美国自己的AI测试机构已被告知停止发布其研究结果。虽然这些公司在呼吁制定严格的共同标准时无疑是真诚的，但如果他们发现与总统的商业倾向合作比与英国AI安全研究所（AISI）合作更有回报，这也不会令人惊讶，而后者届时可能会发现很难继续做好工作。

约翰刘易斯合伙公司赌在翻新上

潜在买家、Frasers Group大亨迈克·阿什利（Mike Ashley）上周表示，哈维·尼科尔斯（Harvey Nichols）百货连锁店正处于“死亡螺旋”中。他补充道：“如果连约翰刘易斯合伙公司都在挣扎，这说明情况有多艰难。”

前一天，《金融时报》（FT）报道称，约翰刘易斯合伙公司主席杰森·塔里（Jason Tarry）已警告员工，利润正受到“极其艰难”的贸易条件的挤压。公司必须适应“一个甚至在六个月前我们都未曾预料到的近期未来”（也就是说，在霍尔木兹海峡关闭之前）。《金融时报》是从一份约翰刘易斯合伙公司的内部杂志中获得这一独家消息的。换句话说，管理层在告知任何人之前先告知了员工——这正是一家由员工拥有的公司应有的样子。

该合伙公司创建于1929年，当时约翰·斯佩丹·刘易斯（John Spedan Lewis）在加入家族企业后发现，他、他的父亲和兄弟获得的收入与全体员工的工资单总额相当。由此产生的高绩效、以员工为中心的文化，或许就是为什么约翰刘易斯合伙公司成为了阿什利的基准。现在，该集团正在进行另一场豪赌，投入自有资金试图扭转局面，包括翻新门店——阿什利认为这类支出无法获得回报。如果约翰刘易斯合伙公司现在的表现好于例如哈维·尼科尔斯，这很可能归功于那些利益相关员工的关键支持。

阿斯顿·马丁因转移至开曼群岛可能面临法律诉讼 Barney Macintyre 商业编辑

在阿斯顿·马丁（Aston Martin）将其宝贵的命名权和品牌权从英国转移到开曼群岛，作为减轻债务负担融资协议的一部分后，该陷入困境的汽车制造商的债权人正威胁要采取法律行动。

根据对英国知识产权局网站备案文件的分析，属于阿斯顿·马丁的 195 个商标——包括翅膀标志以及 DBS 的形状和设计商标（DBS 是詹姆斯·邦德在 1964 年电影《金手指》中驾驶的车型）——已于 30 July 转移至一家离岸子公司。

上个月，阿斯顿·马丁宣布与贝莱德（BlackRock）旗下的私人信贷公司 HPS 达成一项融资协议，其中包括一笔 4.5 亿英镑 贷款。根据条款，这家由加拿大亿万富翁劳伦斯·斯特罗尔（Lawrence Stroll）部分持股的汽车制造商，如果将知识产权 50.1% 的股份交给共同投资者 Authentic Brands，可能还可以提取另外 1 亿英镑。Authentic Brands 拥有锐步（Reebok）和 Ted Baker，并持有与埃尔维斯·普雷斯利（Elvis Presley）和玛丽莲·梦露相关的权利。

上周日，一组被欠款 13亿英镑 的债权人向阿斯顿·马丁的董事会发送了一封“诉前通知函”，警告他们可能会提起诉讼，寻求撤销该交易，因为他们担心这会让他们的

7 月 22 日东京的一个屏幕显示，在美国干预后，日元兑美元大幅上涨。

日本从美国的突然干预日元中获益

在唐纳德·特朗普第二任总统任期初期，曾有传闻称可能会达成一项“海湖庄园协议”，旨在召集全球金融强国共同管理美元贬值。这一举措是对1985年《广场协议》的回响，由后来短暂担任总统经济顾问委员会主席的斯蒂芬·米兰（Stephen Miran）推动。他挑战了传统的经济观点，即为世界提供强大的储备货币是一种“过分的特权”——正如法国财政部长、后来的总统瓦莱里·吉斯卡尔·德斯坦（Valéry Giscard d'Estaing）所言。米兰反而认为这是一种“过分的负担”，损害了美国的出口。

上周美国财政部为了支撑日元而进行的干预（近30年来首次）绝非经过精心管理。美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特（Scott Bessent）出售了数十亿欧元以购买日元并推高其价值，但直到事后才告知欧洲中央银行。据《金融时报》（FT）报道，欧洲官员现在认为西方央行之间数十年的金融稳定合作正“受到威胁”。

尽管日本担心日元贬值带来的通货膨胀和借贷成本后果，但此次干预可能更多是出于美国的自身利益，而非为了支持盟友。反映出美元储备角色之安全性的是，日本持有$1.2m的美国国债，约占所有外国持有量的13%。如果日本通过出售国债来资助购买日元，可能会在华盛顿借贷成本已经令人担忧地攀升之际，将其进一步推高。贝森特利用欧元资助的干预减轻了出售压力。

现在看来，美国希望保留其过分的特权。如果有一天真的达成“海湖庄园协议”（这对特朗普很有吸引力，因为这能为他的豪华度假村带来名声上的光彩），那么该协议肯定不会涉及降低储备货币美元的全球吸引力。

抵押品面临风险。据悉，该团体已聘请多家律师事务所，并设定了14 August的谈判截止日期。一名接近该团体的人士表示，在沟通或考虑反向报价方面，来自阿斯顿·马丁（Aston Martin）方面的回应“几乎为零”。今年2月，这家汽车制造商以5000 万英镑的价格出售了其一级方程式赛车的冠名权，而持有该公司三分之一股份的斯特罗尔（Stroll）被迫否认自己正在寻求退出。

阿斯顿·马丁的股价今年下跌超过40%，该汽车制造商一直受到延迟、质量问题、中国需求疲软以及美国关税增加的困扰。债权人对阿斯顿·马丁与HPS之间的联系提出了治理方面的担忧。这家私募信贷公司还投资了一级方程式车队，并将斯特罗尔视为大投资者。HPS联合创始人斯科特·弗伦奇（Scot French）同时担任阿斯顿·马丁和Authentic Brands的董事会成员。

知识产权经常出现在信贷之争中，因为它是公司最宝贵的资产之一。阿斯顿·马丁的品牌出现在高端婴儿推车、稀有威士忌，甚至迈阿密的一个豪华公寓综合体上。虽然没有迹象表明这家汽车制造商正寻求立即出售这些权利，但人们仍然担心该公司最终可能变成一家必须租赁使用自身名称权利的制造商。

阿斯顿·马丁未回应置评请求。

肖恩·康纳利在《金手指》片场与一辆阿斯顿·马丁DBS。Bettmann Archive --- 商业 观察者报 09.08.26 41

“经济是一场信心游戏，而中年人正在失去信心” 观点 经济编辑 Ben Zaranko

我们应该如何衡量谁正处于经济困境并需要支持？通常的衡量标准是家庭收入和贫困程度——但它们无法全面地描绘出政府应该担心的人群。首先，这些标准与报告财务焦虑感最强的人群并不完全吻合。在 30 多岁中期到 50 多岁后期的中年人群体中，经济不安全感的报告水平最高，尽管他们的收入高于年轻人和养老金领取者。他们最担心自己应对意外账单的能力，且对未来最缺乏信心。这主要是由抵押贷款利率、债务和育儿成本的压力及其不可预测性所驱动的，而所有这些在中年时期都会达到顶峰。有些人被育儿和照顾年迈父母的双重义务所夹击。或许与之相关的是，承担护理责任比例更高的女性报告了更高水平的经济不安全感。

经济不安全感也可能由财务挫折引起，例如失业或住房成本增加。一项由《观察者报》独家分享的新研究表明，这些挫折会导致人们更多地关注眼前的财务管理，而较少关注长期规划。这可能会让他们陷入一个自我延续的循环。这项研究由牛津大学纳菲尔德政治研究中心（Nuffield Politics Research Centre）开展，并将于本周由约瑟夫·罗温特里基金会（Joseph Rowntree Foundation）发布，研究将其称为“经济不安全陷阱”。例如，动用储蓄来支付家庭账单，可能有助于一个家庭度过一个棘手的

女性更容易报告感到经济不稳定

按年龄和性别划分的受访者百分比（阴影表示 95% 置信区间） 来源：Nuffield 政策研究中心和约瑟夫·罗特里基金会经济不稳定小组研究。2024年10月 20-22 日期间采访了 8,268 名英国成年人。

这段时期，但它使他们应对未来冲击（如锅炉维修或汽车故障）的能力降低。感到经济不稳定的人也不太可能承担财务风险，例如通过股票和股份 ISA 投资或为了获得更好的工作而跳槽。这可能是理性的，但长远来看可能会让他们处境更糟。

该研究的作者之一简·格林（Jane Green）教授认为，政府需要关注的不仅仅是传统的收入和贫困衡量标准或生活成本。她说：“现在对家庭以及对政治真正重要的是人们的经济安全感。在出现问题时，财务上能有安心感。”她说，解决这些担忧在“现在到下次选举之间对政府至关重要”。

这可能会带来选举上的回报。格林之前的研究发现，自 2024 年选举以来，工党支持率的下降在感到经济不稳定的选民中尤为明显。扭转这一局面说起来容易做起来难——尤其是当中东冲突再次升级的风险或与天气相关的食品供应中断在眼前徘徊时。

如果政府专注于经济安全，一个可以针对的政策领域可能是家庭储蓄水平。大约一半感到经济不稳定的家庭报告每月没有任何储蓄，而决心基金会（Resolution Foundation）去年报告称，收入最低五分之一的家庭中，有一半的可用储蓄不足 £1,000。

在人们感到压力巨大的时候要求家庭增加储蓄是很困难的。他们可能不愿将资金锁定在直到 55. 岁才能提取的养老金中。Nest 的包容性货币中心（Centre for Inclusive Money）提出的一种方案是建立一个“侧车”储蓄工具：一个与职场养老金并行的应急资金池。这将与自动加入养老金系统相结合，引导低收入工人为紧急情况预留资金。

另一种方案可能是为储蓄者引入更大的灵活性，使其在某些情况下可以提取部分退休金。这存在一种风险，即某些人会耗尽未来的退休收入，最终更加依赖国家——但如果其他人知道在紧急情况下可以提取资金，他们会更愿意增加储蓄。

政府对全球经济冲击无能为力。但谨慎的政策调整至少可以让家庭在应对这些冲击时处于更有利的地位。

订阅《观察者报》，仅需 £1 即可免费加入我们的读书会

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在过去的几个月里，《观察者报》作者 Eva Wiseman 一直在与患有身体畸形恐惧症（Body Dysmorphic Disorder, BDD）的年轻人共处。她在本周的刊号中写道，这是一种“人们极度关注其感知到的身体外貌缺陷的心理健康状况”。BDD 影响着全球数百万人，且往往导致令人心碎的伤害、悲伤和认知偏差。但人们对此知之甚少，部分原因是很少有患者讨论他们的症状，甚至不认为这是一个问题。首先接触 患者的医疗工作者往往不是精神科医生或全科医生，而是皮肤科医生和美容外科医生，因为“患者很少相信自己患有精神疾病——他们只是认为自己很丑”。 正在增加，尤其是在年轻人中，其中许多人在社交媒体的审视目光下长大。但或许仍有希望。除了与 患者共处，Wiseman 还拜访了两位伦敦医生，他们开发了一种疗法——结合药物和治疗——随着时间的推移，这将帮助数以千计的年轻人。她的文章既令人揪心又充满希望。她写道：“这是一种病态的、可怕的、普遍的‘灰姑娘式’障碍，却无人知晓。但它现在是我们所面对的最容易治疗的疾病之一。”

Wiseman 的文章是本周刊号中探讨身体的四篇特写之一：我们如何看待身体，以及身体对我们意味着什么。Vanessa Thorpe 探讨了美黑政治的变迁；Roisin Kiberd 探讨了一种主导美容行业至少十年的妆容美学的终结；而 James Tapper 通过结合运动、饮食和减肥针减轻了超过 10 stone（约 63.5 公斤）的体重，他报道了此后出现的关于身份认同的问题。现在正值盛夏——这是一个我们比任何时候都更关注并质疑自己身体的时刻。我希望本期刊号能提供至少一部分答案。

Alex Moshakis 编辑

撰稿人

Lucy Jones（身体专题，第8页）一位常驻罗马的插画师和版画艺术家，Lucy 俏皮的插画将标记、线条、剪纸、字体和色彩结合在一起。你希望给年轻时的自己什么关于身体的建议？ “为了快乐而运动。”

Roisin Kiberd（“纯净女孩”美学的终结，第18页）Roisin 是本月出版的《断连》（The Disconnect）和《最正常的女人》（The Most Normal Woman）的作者。她在高威大学教授创意写作，并曾担任《刺蝇》（The Stinging Fly）的非虚构编辑。你希望给年轻时的自己什么关于身体的建议？ “进食障碍是有出路的，尽管过程会很缓慢且并非线性，而遵循这条路意味着要重新学习如何生活。另外，尽快开始练习瑜伽。它会照顾你，并帮你让自己在身体中感到自在。”

James Tapper（主持人 10 stone. Am I still me?, 第22页）James 是《观察者报》的职员记者，主要关注科学和健康。你希望给年轻时的自己什么关于身体的建议？ “我小时候他们还没发明‘沙发到5公里’（Couch to 5K）跑步计划。所以建议只能是：多吃苹果。”

Vanessa Thorpe（晒黑的政治学，第14页）Vanessa 是《观察者报》的代理艺术编辑，在报纸各版块撰写关于文化和娱乐的文章，报道艺术节并评论演出。你希望给年轻时的自己什么关于身体的建议？ “一个矛盾的信息：停止关注那些‘显而易见’的缺陷，但请务必开始稍微运动一下。另外，记得梳头。”

Jasper Fry（家居，第28页）Jasper 是一位来自伦敦的摄影师，专注于室内和人像摄影。他的作品曾出现在《室内世界》（World Of Interiors）、《房屋与花园》（House & Garden）、《HTSI》和《Monocle》等刊物上。他曾与 Nordic Knots, Loro Piana 和 V&A 等客户合作。你希望给年轻时的自己什么关于身体的建议？ “不要抠痂。不要挖鼻孔。涂防晒霜。”

封面图片：Lucy Jones，《观察者报》杂志 • 22 Berners Street, London W1T 8LP • magazine@observer.co.uk 印刷于 Walstead Bicester Ltd, Chaucer Business Park, Launton Road, Bicester, OX26 4QZ 09.08.26 《观察者报》杂志 3

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5:15 PM 周六

他们纯粹是出于好奇才来的。他们听说斯特林·莫斯纪念奖杯赛（Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy）是地球上最昂贵的比赛。但他们在半路被另一种传奇的赛道拦住了。而现在，就算给他们全世界所有的钱，你也无法把他们从舞池里拽走。 没有什么能比得上古德伍德复兴赛（Goodwood Revival） 由 DUNLOP 呈现 18-20 SEPT 2026 现已开票

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观察 (Observations)

与演员 Nick Blood 共度的一小时

预订 (RESERVATIONS)

奢华之怀

一家托斯卡纳酒店将款待之情与历史魅力提升到了新高度。Le Lappe 是一家小型酒店，由 Lorenza Benini Galeffi 在 20 年前建立在她家族的托斯卡纳庄园遗址之上。如今，在这里长大的她的儿子、建筑师 Niccolò Calabrese de Feo，与他的合伙人——美国室内设计师 Remy Renzullo 共同监督了此次修复工作。这家酒店感觉更像是一座私人住宅，被极其纯净的基安蒂（Chianti）乡村所环绕，大致位于佛罗伦萨和阿雷佐之间。

“对我们来说，在 Lorenza 已经创造的基础上——无论是物质上还是情感上——进行构建至关重要，”Renzullo 说道，“我们希望保留那种轻松之美，感觉它像是经过几个世纪演变而来的。”

通过一条穿过橄榄林的半英里小径即可抵达，Le Lappe 占据了一座建在中世纪瞭望塔遗址上的 18 世纪别墅，以及一座相邻的 16 世纪修道院。11 间卧室中的每一间都由佛罗伦萨艺术家 Assia Pallavicino 手绘，并配有木材燃烧的壁炉和铸铁浴缸。一天从自制糕点开始，下午则在盐水泳池边度过。晚餐时，主厨 Sara Gonelli 在烛光闪烁的温室中，使用庄园的有机橄榄油烹制她的家族食谱，例如野猪肉酱宽面。

“Le Lappe 应该被慢慢地揭开面纱，”Renzullo 说，“我们希望客人们能花时间去欣赏其中的用心与工艺。这是一个激情渗透到每一个细节的地方。” • TABITHA JOYCE

走红网络

热血哺乳动物之夏

动物趣事视频继续安抚着社交媒体的紧张神经。Timothy 是一只患有脊柱疾病的浣熊，这导致它像受惊的猫一样快步疾走，它如此受欢迎，以至于在谷歌搜索它时，会触发一个动画版本在屏幕上跑过。紧随其后的是海豹 Neil，一只在塔斯马尼亚造成混乱的一吨重象海豹。最近出现的是年迈的 Thunder Cat 及其主人 Xzibit，Xzibit 表示，从说唱歌手到“猫格影响者”的转变“不在我的预料之中”。社会在网上将哺乳动物拟人化的热爱，就相当于在耳后轻轻挠痒并揉揉肚子。 • HAYLEY MYERS

为……辩护：喜剧歌曲

只要我还在享受音乐和喜剧，我就一直意识到喜剧歌曲所背负的污名。作为一个热爱这种备受诟病的类型的人，我从未理解这种厌恶感。最常见的反对意见可能是，将两种不同的事物混合在一起会导致结果不伦不类。套用汉克·希尔（Hank Hill）关于基督教摇滚的那句名言，这种观点认为，这样做既没有让喜剧变得更好，反而让音乐变得更糟。当我用每个人肯定都会喜欢的优秀案例进行反驳时——比如 The Smiths 的《Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others》或 King Missile 的《Jesus Was Way Cool》——我被告知这些不是真正的喜剧歌曲，这表明我们正处于一个必须逃离的分类学囚笼之中。

我认同的一点是，一首优秀的喜剧歌曲所运用的音乐，必须在质量上与笑料相匹配，甚至超越笑料。约翰·海格利（John Hegley）的《Trainspotters》中动人的、叮当作响的吉他摇摆；维多利亚·伍德（Victoria Wood）的《Real Life》中那不协调的、带有巴黎气息且颤动的手风琴；Lonely Island 的《Sushi Glory Hole》中提升格调的陷阱音乐节奏和尖叫式即兴发挥：所有这些都是完美的音乐作品，且作为笑料传递机制发挥得恰到好处。所有这些都证明了那种观点的虚伪——即认为一名喜剧演员一旦选择唱歌，或一名歌手决定讲笑话，他们创造艺术的机会就趋近于零。

对此，我只想回答：写情诗大概是非常困难的，然而将这些心血与音乐结合，构成了整个流行音乐经典的核心。在这种情况下，我们喜欢那 1% 的佳作，并忽略 99% 的打油诗，但并不会因此将民谣这个概念扔进文化的垃圾桶。我说，抛弃这种污名，卸下我们愤世嫉俗的耳朵吧。回来吧，贾斯珀·卡罗特（Jasper Carrott）。一切都被原谅了。是时候再次唱歌、鼓掌和欢笑了。

• SHAMAS O'REILLY

MIGUEL POKLAN 5 --- 观察

描述你完美的一个小时

在我母亲的花园里和我的侄子侄女们踢足球，一边牵着妻子的手一边打水仗。

如果你可以生活在任何 era, 会是哪个？

每个人都觉得我们生活在动荡的时代，所以很容易将之前的时代浪漫化，即使那时的生活可能更糟糕。我不介意看恐龙打一小场架，但它们可能会把我吃了，所以我活不了多久。我会采取稳妥方案，回到智能手机出现之前的时代，就为了弄清楚在有了播客和 BBC Sport 之前，我把时间都花在什么地方了。

你最常白日梦地向往你生命中的哪个阶段？

我的青少年中期。和朋友们一起玩滑板，在家庭派对上蹦跳，在街头漫游，或者跳上火车前往哈罗滑板公园（Harrow Skate Park）。我怀念那种一切都在面前的完全自由感——当时我肯定没有足够地珍惜它。

如果你可以和任何名人共度一小时，会是谁？

帕特里斯·奥尼尔（Patrice O'Neal），那位美国喜剧演员。他绝对会把我撕成碎片，但到最后我可能会因为笑得太厉害而练出惊人的腹肌。

你最后一次哭是什么时候？

昨晚在舞台上，但那是装的。在现实生活中，我经常哭。我是个敏感的男孩。我的意思是，如果我们继续深入探讨我最向往的那个时代，我可能已经开始掉眼泪了。

HOUR

你最后一次偷东西是什么时候？

无可奉告。

你最后一次后悔吃掉某种东西是什么时候？

我参演的戏剧《Sting》的演员和工作人员带来了大量的糖果和巧克力。我有乳糖不耐症，但我忍不住——这在登台表演之前并不是件好事。

你最后一次查看社交媒体是什么时候？

一两周前。我只有 Instagram，而且我尽可能少地使用它。它太让人分心了，而且这种“比较经济”让人们对他人生活的看法产生扭曲。有些人可能正陷入困境，如果你发布一张光鲜亮丽的度假照片，只会让他们感觉更糟。

你上一次用 Shazam 识别歌曲是什么时候？ 我查查。今年五月，Looking Glass 的《Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)》。我经常在广播里听 6 Music，我想应该是在那里听到的。# 你最没时间应付的是什么？ 满口胡言的人。# 上一次有人把你认错成别人是什么时候？ 我当时正走出伦敦电影节，一群狗仔队对着我拍照并大喊：“奥利！奥利！”他们以为我是奥利·默斯（Olly Murs）。# 如果你能回到过去，你会给自己什么建议？ 我会说：少担心别人怎么想。● # 尼克·布鲁德 (NICK BLOOD) 这位 44 岁的英国演员最著名的角色是在获奖剧集《超能幸存者》（Misfits）、漫威的《神盾局特工》（Agents of SHIELD）以及《亢奋》（Euphoria）中饰演的角色。他最近在伦敦 Young Vic 剧院出演了《刺青》（Sting），并从本月起主演犯罪剧《命中点》（Hit Point）。6 讲述给 里奇·佩利 (RICH PELLEY) • 肖像 约书亚·塔恩 (JOSHUA TARN) --- 观察 艾娃·怀斯曼 (EVA WISEMAN) 身体政治

“今年夏天，应对热浪的建议随处可见。但如果你无家可归怎么办？”在过去一个月发表的众多关于如何保持凉爽的指南中，让我印象最深的是《电讯报》建议“关闭中央暖气”。在《卫报》上，我贪婪地阅读着关于如何“饮水”和“留在阴凉处”的建议，并将这些技巧仔细地记录在我的小本子上。不，不——我确定其中也确实有一些不错的点子，比如关于车门和少量啜饮的建议。但正如娜奥米·克莱恩（Naomi Klein）在最近的一篇 Substack 通讯中所指出的，目前所有关于保持凉凉爽建议的潜在信息是，“拯救你自己和你的家人是你的责任，且仅由你承担”。当我坐在像桑拿房一样的巴士上层，可怜地用一本平装书给自己扇风时，我想到了这一点，当时我看到一名无家可归的女性睡在人行道上。她就躺在正午阳光照射下的特易购（Tesco）超市正门外。沿着路走下去，一名男子在车站外乞讨，通勤者们撑着伞，在阴凉中匆匆走过。一名年轻的无家可归女性穿着套头衫和夹克，在医院附近打转，背着一个孩子大小的背包，她的狗在墙边喘着粗气。我意识到，今年夏天会有人死去，不是因为他们不采取保持凉爽的建议，而是因为他们无法采取。生活在 2026 年有一种令人眩晕的感觉，我们看到野火吞噬欧洲的整个区域，看到马匹在火焰中飞奔的视频，而这里的热浪嗡嗡作响，像蜜蜂一样呈现出黄色且不祥。人们感觉我们必须不断适应某些人坚持称之为“新常态”的情况，尽管这种“常态”似乎每天都在变化。例如在伦敦，市长发布了一张新的“凉爽空间”地图，显示了“向所有人开放的室内场所，伦敦人可以在炎热的日子里在此休息”。我带着阴郁的惊奇之情滚动浏览这张地图，仿佛在看一张明天的地图。在市中心有博物馆和美术馆；而在我居住的偏远郊区，则偶尔有图书馆或休闲中心。这对家庭和酷暑中的老人确实很有用，但对于伦敦 1.5万,000 名被污名化的露宿者来说，或许没那么受欢迎，因为他们没有洗澡，且携带著所有财产。过去，将露宿者从街头接走的紧急行动通常在圣诞节前后采取，因为低温使得户外生活变得格外危险。随着热浪变得更加普遍，各区议会必须研究当温度高到什么程度时，需要将人们安置到临时住所中。但这里同样存在问题，正如《大议题》（Big Issue）报道的那样，过热对这些临时住所中的家庭影响尤为严重。《伦敦中心》（London Centric）采访了住在南伦敦临时住所的人们，他们的空调被房东关闭了，而同一栋塔楼中的私人租客的空调却依然开启。居民表示，受影响公寓内的温度达到了 40℃，导致一些孩子被送往医院。当地工党议员斯图尔特·内弗森（Stuart Neaverson）表示：“这是一个关于两种温度的故事，传递了一个明确的信息：如果你穷，你就得流汗。”

随着月份渐干，我们意识到，我的热浪未必是你的热浪。我们所经历的天气并非对每个人都一样。热量不平等如今正以阴郁且剧烈的方式袭来，揭露了阶级、护理体系的裂痕以及（有时是）社区的谎言。当一些新手父母预订空调酒店以帮助婴儿入睡时，另一些人则在公园露营，或在幼儿昏厥后坐在急诊室里。我们适应高温的能力取决于我们的收入；虽然关于如何保持凉爽的清单和传单在汗流浃背的下午可能提供一些扇风的潜力，但对大多数人，尤其是生活在贫困中的人们来说，它们几乎毫无用处。那些能够负担得起英国夏天生活的人与不能负担的人之间日益扩大的差距，揭示了热量的政治学。因此，每一条关于穿着亚麻面料或在正午洗澡的重复建议或公共卫生信息，都应被视为一种提醒：提醒人们那些导致这场气候危机的企业选择，以及我们的政府现在必须做出的关于住房的决定。小口喝水的作用有限。● 请阅读第 8 页关于身体意象障碍的 Eva 特写报道。 7

当你面对自己的镜像时

一代年轻人是在社交媒体的审视镜头下成长起来的，这导致他们对自己的外貌产生了不健康的痴迷。针对身体畸形恐惧症的新疗法正开始带来希望 EVA WISEMAN

变得难以忍受？ 09-28-20 观察者杂志 插画系列 LUCY JONES 9 --- 身体专题

“这一切是从我的腿开始的，那时我 11 岁，”瑞秋轻声说道。“然后是我的额头。接着是鼻子。”瑞秋 14, 岁，浅金色的头发修饰着一张画得极其精致的面孔，给人一种瓷娃娃或天使的印象。

“她会去‘研究’，”她的母亲汉娜说道。汉娜戴着眼镜，穿着一件碎花裙，坐在她身边的沙发上，身上散发出一种尽职尽责者特有的严厉且忧心忡忡的能量。“她会把自己的额头与其他人的额头对比，把自己的鼻子与其他人的鼻子对比。然后她开始说她的脸变形了。”

当瑞秋开始上中学时，这种焦虑变得更加严重。“她开始痴迷于自己的肋骨，然后是腿，然后是眼睛。最终，学校护士给我打电话说：‘有些情况不对劲。’然后她说：‘我认为她患有身体畸形恐惧症。’”

BDD（身体畸形恐惧症）是一种心理健康状况，患者会极度关注他们认为自己身体外观上存在的缺陷。根据《理解身体畸形恐惧症》一书的作者凯瑟琳·A·菲利普斯博士（Dr Katherine A Phillips）的说法，在精神科病房住院的人员中，高达 16% 的人受此影响；在寻求皮肤科治疗的人员中，比例高达 14% ；而在接受美容手术的人员中，这一比例高达一半，这意味着全球有数百万人深受其苦。

但关于这种疾病的出版物非常少，部分原因是很少有患者讨论自己的症状，而且很少有精神科医生（更不用说全科医生或学校护士）接受过识别该病症的培训。最先接触 BDD 患者的从业者往往是皮肤科医生和美容外科医生，因为患者很少相信自己患有精神疾病——他们只是认为自己很丑。

瑞秋说，由于“掩饰”，诊断她花了一些时间。“我不怎么喜欢让别人知道我的感受。”经过一系列转诊，她被列入了英国唯一一家面向 18 岁以下人群的 BDD 专科诊所的候诊名单。该诊所位于伦敦东南部的一家莫兹利（Maudsley）医院，距离他们位于康沃尔的家 235 英里。

坐在沙发上的瑞秋发出了一声带有歉意的哼鸣。

我第一次访问这家诊所是在 10 年前，当时是为了写一篇报道，详细讲述了一个男人的经历：他用剃须刀片小心地将鼻子纵向切开以去除软骨；还有一个人切掉了手指末端；以及一个人用锤子砸碎了脸上的骨头，他们都被自己的外貌困扰到了如此地步。

从那时起，我们文化中关于身体的讨论在温柔与毁灭两种极端方向上同时演变。不仅是那些可能对自己的身体感到痛苦的跨性别儿童成为了喧闹且定义时代的争论中心，我们社会更广泛的身体形象与改造关系也发生了显著变化。以至于“砸骨头”成了 TikTok 上的趋势，英国每年在面部“微调”上花费 32亿英镑。身体，尤其是脸，变成了可变的物体，尤其是年轻人被鼓励并被期待去关注并改造它们。

在这 10 年里，诊所的情况也发生了变化。在临床主任兼顾问精神科医生布鲁斯·克拉克（Bruce Clark）的领导下，他们意识到了 BDD 的普遍性。在 17 到 25, 岁的年轻女性中，有 3.6% 的人受此影响，其中约四分之一会尝试自杀。为了提供对比，女性一生中患厌食症的概率低于 1%。

他们完善了一种治疗方案——结合认知行为疗法（CBT）、暴露疗法和高剂量的选择性血清素再摄取抑制剂（SSRI）药物——这有助于管理强迫性思维和强迫性行为。该诊所的治疗方案带来了 80% 的响应率，这在心理健康治疗中几乎是闻所未闻的。这意义重大：他们找到了治愈方法。

“她会把自己的额头与其他人的额头对比，把自己的鼻子与其他人的鼻子对比。然后她开始说她的脸变形了……”

现在的关键在于寻找患者。“这是一种病态的、可怕的、普遍的‘灰姑娘式’障碍，却无人知晓，”克拉克说道——所谓的“灰姑娘式障碍”是指那些被隐藏、被遗忘的疾病。“但它现在是我们所能治疗的最容易痊愈的病症之一。然而，几乎没有临床医生有信心对其进行诊断，更不用说治疗了。”

当我访问占据了一个街区的莫兹利（Maudsley）精神病院时，我注意到的最直接的变化是，克拉克的诊所已经搬到了该场地中心一座全新的、具有开创性的建筑中。在他的监督下，皮尔斯莫兹利儿童与青少年中心（Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People）旨在将欧洲规模最大的精神健康临床医生和学术团体聚集在一起。作为金斯莫兹利合作伙伴关系（King’s Maudsley Partnership）的一部分，这个中心感觉完全不像医院。这里拥有超现代的技术（包括基因分型和脑扫描）来预测、预防和治疗精神健康障碍；这里有由年轻患者本人委托创作的艺术品；露台上则有精致的花园，用于户外会面。

顶层是住院患者区，包括自残或经历精神病症状的儿童。他们在那里拥有一所设施先进的学校——涵盖艺术、音乐、科学——以及一个美丽且繁茂的花园，蜜蜂与薰衣草在其中生机勃勃。花园建有极高的玻璃围栏，无法攀爬，并沿边布置了种植槽，以防止有人冲向墙壁。

在七月一个闷热的日子里，光头且目光炯炯的克拉克领着我穿过安静的大厅，经过雕塑、巨大的窗户和成排的研究员。他说，这里与他刚开始这项工作时那个堆满文件的维多利亚式排屋诊所相比，距离相当遥远。

尽管我们周围充满了现代感，但身体畸形恐惧症（BDD）并非一种新病症。它在1987年正式被列为精神障碍，但最早是在1991年被一位名叫恩里科·莫塞利（Enrico Morselli）的意大利精神科医生认可的，他将其称为“dysmorphophobia”，源自古希腊语“dysmorfia”。这个词意为“丑陋”，最早出现在《希罗多德历史》中；在关于“斯巴达最丑女孩”的神话中，她被女神之手抚摸后变得美丽。根据莫塞利的说法，dysmorphophobia是“意识中突然出现并固化了关于自身畸形的想法；个体担心自己已经畸形或可能变得畸形，并在这种想法中感受到一种无法言表的灾难感”。

10 09.08.06 观察者报杂志 --- 身体畸形恐惧症

稍后，当露西在靠近海岸的家中通过视频向我讲述她的 teenage 女儿亚历克西斯（Alexis）的情况时，“一种无法言表的灾难感”这句话再次在我脑海中浮现。亚历克西斯此时正独自在楼上的卧室里。克拉克和他的同事、临床心理学顾问兼BDD基金会副主席阿米塔·贾西（Amita Jassi）将这些年轻人介绍给我，他们在最终确诊后，都处于认知行为疗法（CBT）和选择性血清素再摄取抑制剂（SSRIs）治疗的不同阶段，并且都在小心翼翼地走出房门，走向一个充满反射表面的世界。

露西皮肤细腻洁净，卷发如泡沫般垂至肩头。她记得亚历克西斯13岁时放学回家很沮丧，因为历史老师在课堂上给她安排的座位让“每个人都能从侧面看到她”。在通过谷歌搜索找到BDD基金会之前，他们经历了一段时间的等待和多次误诊（包括被诊断为饮食障碍）。

与此同时，亚历克西斯变得越来越执着于她认为自己畸形的五官，并停止了上学。露西对她的世界在如此短的时间内变得如此“绝望地阴暗和抑郁”感到震惊。亚历克西斯退缩到自己的卧室里，“几乎陷入了僵直状态。似乎不在这个世界上。她是清醒的，但她脑海中的情况糟糕到让她几乎关闭了意识。”克拉克和贾西告诉我，他们已经习惯了通过卧室门来治疗患者。贾西说，有时他们“根本见不到那个人”。大约 80% 的 BDD 患者报告有自杀念头，而保守估计约有四分之一的人尝试过自杀。因此，他们说，治疗这些患者可能是一次“可怕”的经历。在家里，露西开始研究这种疾病，很快意识到与女儿就她的外貌进行理性沟通是没有意义的，因为“她的现实就是她的现实，所以我的女儿看到的，就是她所看到的。这并不是其他所有人看到的。有证据表明，”她说，“BDD 患者的感知能力实际上与非 BDD 患者不同。他们字面上看事物的方式就不同。一位治疗师这样解释：如果你或我看一幅巨大的莫奈画作，我们会看到整体，但 BDD 患者只会看到油漆痕迹。”这有点像当你盯着一个词看太久，它就失去了意义，反而变成了一堆乱码字母或一系列拉长的声音。这就是她的女儿看待自己的方式：油漆痕迹，声音。像瑞秋一样，亚历克西斯试图伪装自己的身体，花好几个小时打理头发，遮住手臂和腿。但其他人 → 08-28-20 观察者杂志 11 --- 身体专刊 则诉诸于重复手术，或尝试在家里进行手术。克拉克的一位同事曾治疗过一名女性，该女性在尝试切除自己的乳房后被送往急诊室（A&E）。亚历克西斯至少两年没有见过任何人。最终，她在关闭摄像头的情况下通过网络完成了 GCSE 考试，虽然她开始了治疗，但在进入暴露疗法阶段时退出了治疗。"暴露工作可能包括减少化妆或稍微改变发型，以及大量面对镜子的练习，"贾西告诉我。露西记得亚历克西斯被要求尝试在放学时走过学校，这对她来说感觉是不可能的，就像被要求走钢丝一样。"我无法反驳她的逻辑。她的信念是，如果人们看到她，他们会认为她长得极其丑陋。而她的想法是，‘好吧，我永远无法证明他们不认为我长得丑。’但我崩溃了。"亚历克西斯不愿服用药物，但多年来，露西观察到她自己在缓慢地进行某种形式的暴露练习，她的生活在逐渐地、有时是难以察觉地改善。亚历克西斯承认自己患有 BDD，“但与此同时，她仍然认为自己长得很丑”。在家里，她尽量避开视线，在用餐时间发短信到楼下确认厨房是否没人。如果她需要在走廊里经过父母，她会用头发遮住脸。当克拉克和我走在医院明亮的走廊里——许多年轻患者在经历了横跨全国的艰辛旅程后才来到这里（或者，因为无法出门，而从未来到这里）——我想到了被注视的痛苦。我们从未像现在这样被如此频繁地审视。根据苹果公司的说法，iPhone 用户在 2024. 拍了 5000 亿张自拍。面部识别技术每天都在被使用，无论是登录银行账户还是将我们识别为罪犯。Instagram 奖励那些记录自己形象的用户，导致了随笔作家贾·托伦蒂诺在 2019, 年所称的“Instagram 脸”的兴起，这是一种首先通过数字滤镜，随后通过注射滤镜实现的同质化美学标准。

最近转诊到克拉克诊所的一名儿童拒绝了预约，因为他们已经计划了多次手术。“而且这些通常是‘TikTok手术’，”克拉克说，“延长腿部、调整颅骨大小、更换鼻子、改变皮肤……非常不寻常的请求。我们已经相当熟练了——当人们问‘我还能做手术吗？’时，我们不会告诉他们不需要。治疗的目的不是为了说‘你很漂亮’，因为我认为漂亮的标准可能与你的想法不同。这无关紧要。我们是心理健康从业者，我们处理的是痛苦。”贾西告诉我，三分之一患有身体畸形恐惧症（BDD）的成年人会进行“DIY手术”：切割眼睑、弄断鼻子、向嘴唇注射凡士林。不过，更常见的是拜访美容师或外科医生的人。对于年轻患者来说，情况更复杂。其中一人告诉他们，她正在“从事妓女、陪侍工作，以便筹集手术资金”。贾西表示，像填充剂这样的“微调”现在已经“相当常态化”了，但他们不确定是手术便捷性的提高，还是互联网接触的增加导致了BDD的增加。“我认为，担心目前的互联网接触是驱动这一现象的原因是非常现实的，”克拉克说。BDD患者“在寻求认可，一直用手机观察自己，产生一些可能从未想过的改造想法”。虽然存在易感因素，但社交媒体“可能是点燃火苗的火柴。我不能说它绝对导致了BDD，但它确实在更广泛地导致身体意象痛苦。”自我手术的风险是极端的，但与BDD相关的更隐蔽的伤害同样具有破坏性：破碎的家庭、缺席的学年，克拉克告诉我，还有不稳定行为带来的影响。“即使在研究试验中，”在谈到他们最近与青少年的工作时，他说，“我们也遇到了三次怀孕惊魂。他们事后非常后悔的计划外性行为。仅仅因为有人对他们友好，就过快地采取了过激行为。在网上故意接触那些想要他们分享照片的年长男性。他们知道这很危险，但他们还是会这么做，仅仅因为这个陌生人说他们看起来很漂亮。”

‘在家里，亚历克西避而不见，在用餐时间先发短信到楼下确认厨房没人，然后才下来’

在我上次从这家医院报道后的十年里，跨性别可见度的提高为跨性别群体带来了显著的权利和收益，但也导致了激烈的反弹，以及关于心理健康、身体改变和医疗获取的持续争论。克拉克和贾西与莫兹利医院（Maudsley）的性别服务部门密切合作，两人都参与了卡斯审查（Cass Review），该审查受命为针对年轻跨性别者使用青春期阻断剂和激素的政策立场提供信息。贾西的目标是“试图将一切理清并提供帮助，不仅是思考BDD与性别相关痛苦之间的区别，还包括自闭症。人们在两个方向上都会误诊，但治疗方法存在重要差异。”她说，身体畸形恐惧症、性别焦虑和身体相关痛苦之间经常存在重叠，但BDD患者可能专注于他们的鼻子或头发，而性别焦虑患者则会专注于与性别认同相关的身体部位——“性别标志，比如想要切除乳房”。克拉克告诉我，患有BDD的人通常意识不到自己患有BDD，“所以他们可能会认为性别痛苦是描述他们部分现状的一种方式。但显然，两者可以同时存在。”

SUKI SHANDA 12 --- 身体畸形恐惧症

在我们交谈时，我感到一阵眩晕。透过身体意象障碍（body dysmorphia）的视角审视过去十年，我看到身体已然成为公共卫生政策、立法控制以及国际文化战争的战场。十年前，克拉克（Clark）震惊地发现，年轻人会在网上请求陌生人给自己的外貌打分，而整形外科医生则在评论区潜伏。如今，人们请求 AI 模型评判自己的长相，并告诉他们身体的哪些方面可以改进，以及如何改进。有些人要求详细的“面部美学”报告；在浏览那些用虚线将面部切分的分析结果时，感觉这些女性就像在咨询手相师或面对一面魔镜。在 Reddit 的“外貌最大化”（looksmaxxing）讨论串中，年轻男性发布并挑选他们与 ChatGPT 的对话，而同龄人则提供关于如何“晋级”的建议。

17 岁的马克斯（Max）下颌线强硬，笑声低沉，他告诉我，他庆幸自己直到最近才发现“外貌最大化”，否则这会令他的焦虑感“激增”。在他 12 岁、正处于自闭症诊断过程中时，他的母亲萨姆（Sam）意识到他很难走出家门。他花好几个小时才能把头发弄好，然后在车里被窗户上的倒影吓坏——他在半路上会陷入恐慌发作，导致他们不得不原路返回。他看的第一个治疗师说这是广场恐惧症。他打破了很多镜子。他在 13 岁生日那天一直待在卧室里，被自己的外貌折磨。

“最令人心碎的是，”在彼得伯勒（Peterborough）家中与我交谈的萨姆说，“当有人问‘为什么没有人能帮我？’而你却找不到任何人能提供帮助的时候。当他们哭泣、摇晃，说着‘请让这一切停止’的时候。这就是促使你走出去为孩子争取权利的原因。”在找到一位能识别 BDD（身体意象障碍）的治疗师后——这种病在男孩中较少见，但通过一套简单的问卷很容易诊断（例如：“你多久故意检查一次自己的特征？”、“你在多大程度上认为外貌是你个人最重要的方面？”）——马克斯在家里接受了评估并开始治疗。有一天，治疗师“年轻人请求 AI 模型评判自己的长相，并告诉他们身体的哪些方面可以改进，以及如何改进”要求他进入浴室对着镜子看自己 10 秒钟。“我照做了，”马克斯说，“然后我回来就直接哭了。”然而，他已经在床上躺了这么多个月，以至于他愿意忍受痛苦，而不是“永远被困在室内”。

萨姆认为马克斯很幸运。BDD 是一种仍被广泛误解的障碍，尽管克拉克和贾西（Jassi）已经制定了治疗手册并在全英国推广，但治疗资源依然难以获得。克拉克告诉我，普遍的态度似乎是认为那些受苦的人应该“振作起来，不要那么虚荣”。“人们很难将其视为一种真实的疾病。这是一场艰苦的斗争。”克拉克目前在审查新指南的委员会中，建议在国民医疗服务体系（NHS）内提供适当的治疗，这意味着 BDD 将作为一种特定疾病被纳入指南，并有明确的护理预期。但它不可避免地仍将带有污名。正如他们的同事开玩笑说，尽管我们对心理健康的理解在过去十年中有所演变，“你在约会网站上会看到人们写‘患有 ADHD，寻找真爱’。但没有人会写‘我有命令性幻听，患有精神分裂症，寻找真爱’。同样，我认为在社交应用上，人们永远不会说‘我觉得自己丑陋得惊人，如果你看我，你会感到恶心’。”

随着一个在很大程度上缺乏监管的美学产业改变着英国人的面孔和预期，理解该产业的古怪之处及其局限性，正成为贾西（Jassi）和克拉克（Clark）工作中日益重要的一部分。他们一直试图渗透其中，促使美容院系统性地筛选客户，但在极少数被邀请参加会议的情况下，他们离开时感到很沮丧。“感觉就像是在走形式，”贾西说，“就好像他们只是在完成保护措施这一环。但我猜，改变并不符合他们的利益。因为如果房间里有一位临床医生，可能会拒绝某种治疗。”在皮肤科诊所中，他们看到了许多心理健康困扰，人们在就诊身体问题的同时，还伴有抑郁和焦虑。而且，虽然大多数人并不符合躯体变形障碍（BDD）的诊断标准，但克拉克发现，对他们身体意象的治疗与 BDD 的治疗有所重叠。心理疗法有助于改善人们的自我认知，并引导他们挑战自己看待自己的方式。这对每个人都可能有用。虽然这些医生已经对 有了深入了解，但问题依然存在，包括其成因——这种障碍是与遗传、创伤、外部压力有关，还是所有这些因素交织在一起？——以及它与我们许多人每天面对的外貌焦虑之间那条模糊的界线。 是这些焦虑的极端版本，还是某种完全独立的东西？医生又该如何接触到更多处于痛苦之中的大量人群，并说服更广泛的世界“这是一种隐藏在众目睽睽之下的具有影响力的障碍”？在与 患者及其家人和年轻人交谈时，我被他们的勇气以及他们的母亲面对这场“无法言说的灾难”时所表现出的坚韧耐心所震撼。我也发现自己心中充盈着一种不安的感觉，这些孩子不仅隔在我的笔记本电脑屏幕玻璃之后，而且还隔得更远，仿佛在透过另一道屏障，像一面昏暗的镜子一样在说话。他们的现实与我的不同。我所看到的——他们青春的完美和害羞而敏锐的眼神——并不是他们所看到的，而每天，在医生的帮助下，他们的父母必须艰苦地寻找一种方式，去跨越那道令人望而生畏的鸿沟。有时，马克斯（Max）的母亲萨姆（Sam）担心自己在孩子年幼时影响了他，因为她让他看到她为自己的头发和妆容而烦恼——最近她考虑过注射肉毒杆菌，但在与他交谈后决定放弃。当马克斯接受治疗时，萨姆决定挑战自己，也尝试进行暴露疗法，在不化妆的情况下出门，并在走进镇中心时感受到焦虑的刺痛。很快，她意识到世界对她的态度不会有所不同，她不会惊恐发作，她能挺过来。在马克斯卧床治疗的几个月里，他的朋友们一直经常来看他。“他们会说，‘告诉他我们在想他，希望他一切都好，’”萨姆说，“而我会说，‘下周再来。你永远不知道（情况何时会好转）。’” • 部分姓名已更改 13 ---

1 --- # 晒黑 # 何时变得 # 如此 阳光亲吻过的肤色曾是闲暇与特权的象征。为什么现在晒黑皮肤会充满社会和文化焦虑？作者：VANESSA THORPE

复杂吗？ 15 --- 身体专题

在萨默塞特郡的一片原野上，在罂粟花和随风摇曳的长草之间，17 岁的 Elsie 穿着一件金黑相间的比基尼在晒太阳。她的目标很明确：躺下来，努力追求我们笨拙地称之为“变棕”的状态。尽管今年夏天关于“晒黑羞辱”（tan-shaming）事件增加的报道层出不穷，但她并没有感到自觉尴尬。她的目标很明确：躺下来，努力追求我们笨拙地称之为“变棕”的状态。尽管今年夏天关于“晒黑羞辱”事件增加的报道层出不穷，但她并没有感到自觉尴尬。

Elsie 的父亲是印度人，但她皮肤白皙。她说在她的白人年轻朋友中，夏天的目标就是加深肤色。她告诉我，这个过程是一种享受，能带来一种自然的焕发活力之感。“其实我们都想晒黑，”她说，“毫无疑问。而且我们大多数人并不真的使用人造美黑产品或日光浴床。”她瞥了一眼在附近温顺地遮阳的父母。

在树荫下，Elsie 的母亲告诉我，她的中年社交圈则完全不同。他们都使用人造美黑产品，然后戴着宽大的软边帽坐着，因为他们不想长皱纹或老年斑。“噢，是的，我的日本朋友也戴遮阳帽，”Elsie 在她那片阳光普照的天堂之地说道，“因为那里的审美标准不同。”在日本，“美白”（bihaku）传统依然将无瑕的皮肤与高贵联系在一起。

母女两人都意识到了肤色在社交信号中所扮演的角色。如果你能抛开阳光损害的风险——年轻人似乎能做到这一点——那么现在，即使是那些极其顽固的对古铜色身体的时尚追求也受到了攻击。正当我们对危险的认识增加时，对晒太阳习惯本身的反对浪潮也随之兴起，美国皮肤科医生、活动家德博拉·萨诺夫（Dr Deborah Sarnoff）博士已经等待这一刻多年。萨诺夫多次呼吁时尚和娱乐界的知名人士劝阻公众将晒太阳等同于“你是一个有闲阶级的人”，她希望结束社会学家菲利普·范尼尼（Phillip Vannini）和亚伦·M·麦克赖特（Aaron M McCright）在 20 多年前首次定义的“古铜色身体的符号诱惑力”。

如今，晒黑究竟意味着什么？最糟糕的情况是，它是屈服于社交媒体影响力者的标志，许多影响力者仍在关键平台上推广《爱之岛》（Love Island）参赛者那种原子般的光芒。结果，专业的城市人群开始轻视古铜色的四肢，用挑眉或屈尊的评论来否定任何新晒黑的人。对于有抱负的英国人来说，晒黑不再能赋予一种特权光环。相反，它被视为——当然是错误的——要么是愚蠢地在日光浴床上待了一阵子，要么是在旅游度假村度过了一周的证明。

在英国，阶级和文化分歧再次将“晒黑”武器化。证据在我办公室里就体现出来了，当时一名同事结束了一周的年假回来。她光彩照人，比离开时深了足足三个色调，但她承认对此感到羞怯，并拉低了袖子。“我母亲不会喜欢的，”她说。她同意，更白皙的“室内外观”现在意味着更高的地位。

在夏天变“棕”突然不再仅仅是享受了一个好假期的证明：它被玷污了。因为虽然出国度假对许多英国人来说仍然是罕见的享受，但它远不像以前那样罕见了。而且在经历了国内接连不断的热浪之后，在当地公园长椅上长时间地坐着也能产生同样的地中海效果。因此，关于可用闲暇时间和收入水平出现了新的含义——“关于可用闲暇时间和收入水平的新含义，已缓慢地削弱了晒黑带来的社交光彩”——而这些含义缓慢地削弱了晒黑的社交光彩。

对于年轻人来说，这似乎成了另一件他们不被允许做但又令人愉悦的事情，而与此同时，他们周围的世界正陷入一片火海。而且，怎么能指望他们忽视身体转变的吸引力呢？今年春天，美国皮肤病学会一项关于日光下行为的调查发现，在18至29岁的受访者中，只有四分之一的人担心日光浴的影响，而普通人群中的这一比例则超过了三分之一。执着的TikTok用户现在将阳光留下的白色肩带印视为一种癖好，这些微小的视觉印记是对远方海滩上那段隐含的无忧无虑时光的回溯。这是一种强大的魔力。1923年，可可·香奈儿在一次前往法国里维埃拉的旅行后，首次使晒黑流行起来。据说随后她表示，金色的光泽是“时髦的指标”。而在可可之前，面色苍白被认为是时尚的，因为这暗示着一种远离体力劳动的生活。但我们肤色的定义一直由接连不断的时尚潮流所主导。伦敦国王学院研究过奢侈品历史概念的学者伊丽莎白·埃格（Elizabeth Eger）告诉我，在18世纪，富裕女性依赖于用铅制成的白色化妆品。她们在模仿约书亚·雷诺兹（Joshua Reynolds）及其同辈画家笔下那些像玩偶一样的贵族肖像——他们就是那个时代的Instagram博主。随后出现了反弹。埃格说：“一些贵族女性开始认为，所有这些白脸女人在以一种相当不道德的方式炫耀她们的财富。”18世纪的富裕知识分子、 “蓝袜社”（Blue Stockings Society）的领导者伊丽莎白·蒙塔古（Elizabeth Montagu）主张一种乡村清新感，以传达良好的品格。我记得在青少年时期，当一位亲切的女士告诉我我看起来“苍白而有趣”时，我感到很沮丧，因为在我听来，这证实了我的书呆子气。我不希望自己看起来像是总在卧室里独自读书、在昏暗的房间里看电影，即便我确实在做这些事，而这些事正为我打开世界的大门。在旧观念中，认为一个真正的“蓝袜”应该苍白到几乎发蓝，这其中无疑包含了一种殖民主义风格的种族主义成分。这是与智力优越感和种族纯洁性之间一种有害关联的一部分。20世纪30年代末，我的白人母亲还是个坐在婴儿车里的孩子时，她金色的 16 09.08.08 观察者报杂志 --- 晒黑的政治

卷发和纯净的肤色受到了赞美。“你给她喂什么？金鱼吗？”一位路过的贵妇人好奇地问道，这让我的祖母非常高兴。因此，如今的人们暂时选择那些在历史上一直是歧视焦点的深肤色，正是发达国家粗鄙之风的一个典型例子。与此形成残酷对比的是，持续存在的有害美白产品贸易则容易理解得多。与此同时，西方社会要求保持白皙和体面的潜意识偏见，意味着坦然地躺在阳光下具有一种反叛的吸引力，这种鲁莽可以被解读为一种智力上的自信。我的一位前同事曾在办公室的办公桌前涂脚趾甲，当一位年长的男性上司问她如何期望同事能认真对待她时，她冷淡地回答道：“我上过牛津，然后又去了剑桥，就是为了能被认真对待。”追求晒黑是一种类似的挑衅。毕竟，一个人完全可以在做一些平庸之事的同时，依然拥有精神生活。获得深色的晒痕就像是在说：“我看到了你那精致的、受过教育的苍白，而我则用我对生存的简单快乐来反击。”60多岁的作家兼广播员菲奥娜（Fiona）表示赞同：“我晒得很深，这让我感觉更好。但这可能会被视为庸俗。上周一个朋友对我说：‘噢太好了，你还没晒得太棕。’”

演员兼作家花子·富特曼（Hanako Footman）是小说《杂种》（Mongrel）的作者，该书讲述了三位日本年轻女性的故事。她告诉我，她对同为东亚女性的同胞们的态度很感兴趣。“每次回到日本，我都感到惊讶：没有人晒太阳。最近，甚至我在伦敦的白人朋友也极力避晒，为了‘不比必要的速度老化得更快’。”相比之下，富特曼很欣赏她在度假时看到的年长意大利女性，她们皮肤“饱经风霜”，像柚木一样深色。“甚至在小时候，我就觉得她们看起来如此迷人，如此接纳自己的身体和快感。感觉她们致力于生活。”古铜色身体的光彩依然难以否认。无论它意味着奢华还是慵懒，它依然带着一种诱人的享乐主义气息。唯一的真正答案是持有两个平行且完全矛盾的目标。其一，做一个走在街道阴影侧的严肃之人；其二，做一个浅薄、快乐的日光追逐者，追求一种能让你的眼睛颜色瞬间凸显的古铜色肤色。换句话说，这就是现代生活通常的日常认知失调。 ● 17 --- 1 ---

“干净女孩”时代是否已经结束？

这种在近年来主导美容行业的极简妆容风格正走向终结。现在是时候迎接“凌乱女孩”了吗？ 作者：ROISIN KIBERD

结束了吗？ 08-18-20 观察者杂志 19 --- 身体专题

你可以从一个人的眉毛看出很多东西。“纯净女孩”（Clean Girl）的眉毛非常抢眼：经过修形、染色并向上刷起，每一根汗毛都用定型胶固定在原位，呈现出一种超真实的凝固感……它们旨在看起来毫不费力，但实际上是掌控的产物，就像关于她的其他一切一样。她的雀斑是用刷子点上去的。她光彩照人的皮肤是坚持护肤流程和严苛饮食的结果。她极简的配饰——细小的金环耳环和一个抓夹——宣扬着类似的克制。

上述所有这一切被统称为“纯净女孩美学”（Clean Girl Aesthetic），已成为 2020 年代最具定义性的造型之一。多年来，许多女性渴望成为她：刚洗过澡，指甲涂着乳粉色或珍珠色，正前往普拉提课，或去买一杯抹茶，或者在进行其他能证明一个女孩生活井然有序的仪式。然而，她的时代可能已经结束了。

我记得第一次在 Instagram 上看到这种造型时，模特看起来如此水润无瑕，以至于我怀疑她是否是 AI。令我震撼的是这种造型所传递的绝对自信。通过摒弃色彩和细节，甚至将头发向后梳起，它将焦点集中在面部——五官的匀称度和皮肤的净透度。它简单，看似触手可及，但对于任何有痤疮疤痕、皱纹、黄褐斑或任何其他生活痕迹（这些痕迹往往出现在脸上）的人来说，这都是令人畏惧的。

“纯净女孩”及其相关搜索词“纯净女孩妆容”和“纯净女孩美学”，最早在 2021 年从算法的堆积中兴起。在互联网的语境中，“美学”（aesthetic）可以是一种造型，也可以是一种情绪、社群或生活方式。“纯净女孩”渗透进了 T 台、《Vogue》杂志和好莱坞，出现在算法亚文化与主流文化的交汇点。

其他美学风格往往刻意追求小众——如“暗黑学院风”（Dark Academia，书卷气、粗花呢和秋意）、“乡村核心”（Cottagecore，自然质朴且甜美）、“蒸汽波”（Vaporwave，90 年代复古未来主义）——而“纯净女孩”在设计上就是通用型的，一种只要拥有眉毛定型胶和一件洗净的白色 T 恤，任何人似乎都能实现的极简造型。它适用于服装——单色基础款、配套的运动套装、T 恤配牛仔裤——但其影响在美容领域最为显著。

重点在于护肤。妆容被简化为轻薄、透亮的基础底妆（肤色修饰霜或仅用遮瑕膏）。眉毛经过角蛋白塑形（laminated）。唇上总是涂着一层有色润唇膏。造型师将其称为“微妆”（micro-makeup），化妆师萨拉·希尔（Sara Hill）表示，这对于一个被重新包装了上千次的东西来说，“真是个奇怪的名字”。希尔曾为艾莉森·奥利弗（Alison Oliver）、尼古拉·考夫兰（Nicola Coughlan）、杰西卡·查斯坦（Jessica Chastain）和 Sandra Oh 等名人化妆。

“它总是从一个极端走向另一个极端。在 2019 年，我们有所有那些非常强烈的 Instagram 风格，强调创意和趣味，带有浓重的眉妆和闪粉截断式眼妆。必然会出现一次巨大的反弹。”

希尔的大多数客户要求看起来像一个清新、自然的自己。但她也经常被出示海莉·比伯（Hailey Bieber）的照片，后者是化妆品牌 Rhode 的创始人。（“人们就是喜欢她的造型。”）希尔作为化妆师的挑战在于，要营造出一种她根本没有在场化妆的印象。“比伯看起来毫不费力，”希尔告诉我，“不化妆的人看到那样的人，可能会认为她没化妆。”

从名称上看，“纯净女孩”承诺了太多：无暇、完美，以及青春。她是匿名的，但又是独特的。她是我们努力追求的目标，一个远在天边的身影，而我们越是努力想成为她，她就离我们越远。

如今，TikTok 和 Instagram 上关于 #cleangirl 的搜索结果有数百万条。Google Trends 显示，该词的搜索量自 2021, 起稳步增长，在今年 2 月达到顶峰，随后逐渐下降。

“这是我很长时间以来见到的最同质化的趋势，”电台播音员兼《Outspoken Beauty》播客主持人尼古拉·邦（Nicola Bonn）说道，“它流行到让整整一代女性都穿着一种‘纯净女孩’（Clean Girl）的制服。”邦将这一趋势与新冠疫情联系起来，在那个戴口罩、封锁以及社交生活剧烈缩减的时期，人们的关注点从彩妆转移到了护肤。“这给了女性一个精简的需求，”邦说，并且这是“对网红们推崇的冗长且复杂的化妆流程的一种反弹”。“然后，在海莉·比伯（Hailey Bieber）和肯德尔·詹娜（Kendall Jenner）等名人的推动下，它进入了主流。”詹娜在一段《Vogue》视频中演示了她的“纯净女孩”美容流程。比伯的美容品牌 Rhode 成为了这一趋势的定义者。2025年5月，Rhode 宣布被 Elf 以 10亿美元 收购，而该品牌进入市场仅三年。同年，因利润下降，以追求奢华和艺术感而深受喜爱的彩妆品牌 Pat McGrath Labs 被迫出售。

不久前，我发现自己站在 Sally Beauty 店的都柏林分店里。我进来是为了找一款紫色调色剂，好让我的金色挑染看起来清新，或者用我发型师的话说，看起来“干净”（clean）。但我的目光却被一架 Manic Panic 的产品吸引，这是一个由 Tish 和 Snooky 两姐妹在 20 世纪 70 年代的纽约创立的彩色染发品牌。曾经有一段时间，我每个月都会尝试一种新颜色：新玫瑰色（New Rose）、火热粉（Hot Hot Pink）、神秘石楠色（Mystic Heather）。我是在伦敦卡姆登的锐舞服装店 Cyberdog 购买的。我几乎不记得自己曾是那样一个人。那是我的一个版本，穿着 Libertines 的 T 恤，留着底削发型。

如今，在 30 多岁的年纪，我更有可能尝试“纯净女孩”的造型。我处于千禧一代的中间位置，年纪足够大，记得那个烟熏眼妆和半讽刺红唇的“独立颓废”（indie sleaze）时代；但年纪也足够小，见证了随之而来的趋势：2010 年代中期的“全妆”（Full Beat）时期，那时化妆成了一种面部建筑学，拥有棱角分明的眉毛、画出轮廓的厚唇、“烘焙”后的眼下区域，以及通过金·卡戴珊（Kim Kardashian）的 Instagram 从变装皇后那里借鉴而来的修容技巧。我从未能掌握“全妆”。我会在镜子前画唇线和修容，但出门时会因为太在意他人目光而不敢这样打扮。

然后，在 20 多岁的某个时间点，我患上了囊肿性痤疮。巨大的皮下肿块需要数月才能浮出表面，在最终爆发时永远威胁着要留下疤痕。就问题而言，痤疮很平凡，但在心理上却具有毁灭性。我告诉自己这是我应得的，并开始认为自己绝非“纯净”。在经过几轮林霉环素（一种抗生素痤疮治疗药物）、一年的维 A 酸（一种处方级外用类 retinoid）以及虔诚地使用 SPF 防晒霜之后，我达到了目标——皮肤清透——并发现自己几乎没有再次化妆的欲望。

当“纯净女孩”造型首次出现时，我对此表示欢迎。在经历过痤疮、羞耻感、偏执以及不断地补涂 Nars 柔雾遮瑕膏之后，我敏锐地意识到，“纯净”的皮肤如何暗示着健康，并且无论多么具有欺骗性，它都暗示着一种道德上的无瑕状态。美容行业长期以来一直在销售“纯净”的形象和感官体验。几个世纪以来，瘴气理论认为恶臭会传播 LIONEL HARR / GETTY IMAGES 20 --- “纯净女孩”结束 疾病，而好闻的气味可以预防它们。匈牙利之水（Hungary Water）是欧洲最早的酒精基香水之一，据说它是为匈牙利女王伊丽莎白创造的，使用迷迭香（后来加入橙花）不仅是为了装饰，更是为了抵御疾病并净化皮肤。

在20世纪90年代艾滋病危机之后，公众转向了中性且“干净”的香气，例如卡尔文·克莱因（Calvin Klein）的CK One和三宅一生（Issey Miyake）的L'Eau D'Issey。“千禧极简主义”也蔓延到了化妆领域。直到今天，化妆品仍拥有一种奇怪的能力，能让我们在涂抹多层产品后感到更干净。一项研究发现，使用苹果味洗发水的人报告其头发感觉比使用无香品种的人“更干净”。按照同样的逻辑，一张涂了Rhode的Pocket Blush、NYX的Brow Glue和Saie Slip Tint的脸，矛盾地可能会给人一种比素颜“更干净”的印象。化妆品牌Rhode的创始人海莉·比伯（Hailey Bieber）认为，“‘干净女孩’美学（The Clean Girl Aesthetic）意味着健康、福祉，以及——无论多么具有欺骗性——一种道德上的无瑕状态”。打造“干净女孩”造型将穿着者卷入了一种诡计和双重思想之中，要求他们涂抹一系列产品，以便看起来像完全不需要任何产品一样。在这种背景下，“干净女孩”是对我们这个时代的反应。当时新冠疫情肆虐——还有什么比这更好的逃避方式呢？将任何事物——即使是像化妆趋势这样转瞬即逝的东西——称为“干净”，都赋予了它一个政治维度。谁能体现“干净女孩”？而谁又因为同样地梳着油亮后梳的发型并涂着唇彩，而被判定为懒惰且显然不干净？你可能还记得“洁净饮食”（clean eating）趋势，它曾拥有庞大的追随者，但随后在争议中衰落，被批评因给食物赋予道德价值而鼓励不健康思维。美容记者、《丑陋：世界为何变得痴迷美貌以及如何摆脱》（Ugly: Why the World Became Beauty Obsessed and How to Break Free）一书的作者安妮塔·巴格万达斯（Anita Bhagwandas）表示，“干净女孩”是“披着毫不费力外衣的保守美容理想”。“其核心是将‘天然’的欧洲中心主义特征视为令人向往的默认标准，而当这种美学最初突破时，绝大多数是由白人女性引领并因此受到赞美。这是‘好基因’悉尼·斯威尼（Sydney Sweeney）论调在美容界的版本——一种低调的坚持，认为某些面孔天生就是正确的。”巴格万达斯还指出了“干净女孩”的阶级政治。“要看起来如此休息充分、如此被精心呵护，需要真正的金钱和时间。并非每个人都拥有这种奢侈。”美容文化通常感觉像是一场不断移动球门的比赛，维护的定义和成本随着时间的推移逐渐扩大。但“干净女孩”强化了其要求，重点在于美容院护理（睫毛提升、眉毛塑形），最重要的是皮肤——至少需要视黄醇、防晒霜和面膜，此外，如果你有意志力和资金，还需要定期的激光治疗、填充剂和肉毒杆菌毒素。在海湖庄园面孔（Mara-Lago face）的时代，整形手术已成为一种刻意的财富展示，那么值得思考的是，“干净女孩”是否代表了类似的东西。巴格万达斯将这种造型定义为对2010年代包括身体正向（body positivity）、黑人的命也是命（BLM）和#MeToo在内的运动的反弹，她表示：“不可否认的是，同质化被作为一种向往重新推销给我们。差异不再是一个选项。当主导权力感到受到挑战时，审美标准就会收紧——这就是导致‘干净女孩’出现的原因。”那么，是什么导致“干净女孩”退场了？“辣妹夏天”（Brat Summer）——由Charli XCX在2024年发行的第六张专辑《Brat》引发的混乱、享乐主义的文化时刻——成为了终结的开始：“辣妹”教会了新冠一代喝酒、抽烟、派对以及将宿醉浪漫化。在“辣妹”风潮之后，几个以色彩著称的化妆品牌实现了回归。Urban Decay通过一项承诺“对抗平庸”的活动重新塑造品牌。自2021年起停业的Marc Jacobs Beauty则带着一系列个性唇膏和彩虹色眼线笔回归。

但最能证明“纯净美妆”（Clean Beauty）已经过时的证据，是一种新型的病毒式美妆：流行歌手扎拉·拉森（Zara Larsson）在 2025 年开始并持续进行的《午夜之阳》（Midnight Sun）巡演中所呈现的造型。这些造型以浓郁的洋红色和蔚蓝色为主，搭配发丝亮片和点缀在脸上的水钻宝石。这些极具创意的造型向布兰妮（Britney）和克里斯蒂娜（Xtina）所在的 Y2K 鼎盛时期致敬，出自拉森的化妆师索菲亚·西诺特（Sophia Sinot）之手，她曾公开誓言要亲手彻底终结“纯净女孩”（Clean Girl）时代。

希尔（Hill）同样欢迎摆脱“纯净女孩”的克制。“我其实非常喜欢‘凌乱女孩’（Messy Girl），”她说，“我觉得这很酷，很叛逆。我希望它能回归，尽管我现在还没怎么看到。”她注意到一种趋向于更柔和、更奇幻造型的趋势。“这更多关乎腮红、雀斑和光泽。它不是‘纯净女孩’，因为妆容更明显，而且呈现方式更俏皮。它清新、水润，带有一点色彩——这很好，因为之前的色调太久都是米色了。”

“看到它消失我太欣慰了，”邦恩（Bonn）告诉我，“这根本不是在表达个人特质。在女性声音比以往任何时候都重要的时刻，这种趋势反而让你感觉像是在把自己隐藏起来。”

评论人士们纷纷为下一个趋势命名：除了“凌乱女孩”，还有“奇幻美妆”和“极繁主义妆容”。突然之间，我们被敦促去冒险，去拒绝“纯净”——这相当于家居装饰中的全米色风格——并让我们的个性显现出来。

由于爱尔兰的天气和我那总是乱飞的头发，我任何尝试模仿“纯净女孩”的努力在出门几分钟内就会崩溃。这是一个关于谦卑的教训；虽然这些日子我的皮肤状态好了一些，但我看起来永远是凌乱的，而我决定顺应这一点，而不是与之对抗。无论如何，也许自我表达永远不会过时。正如一名 Reddit 用户在庆祝色彩回归的帖子中所说：“如果你不是个胆小鬼，色彩就从未离开。”

● Roisin Kiberd 所著的《最平凡的女人》（The Most Normal Woman）将于 8 月 27 日由 Tramp Press 出版，售价 £14。在 observershop.co.uk 购买可节省 10% 21 ---

2 --- # 我减轻了 # 近 # 10 stone。Mounjaro 帮我减轻了 44% 的体重，但它也引发了关于我们是谁、身份的本质以及是什么让我们成为人类的严肃问题 # 我是谁 By JAMES TAPPER

还是我吗？ 23 --- 身体专题

我的肚脐以前从未让我感兴趣，但最近我开始更多地关注它。这就是减肥带来的影响，至少对我来说是这样。我不断地检查自己的身体部位，因为在过去的两年半里，我减轻了近 61kg（即 9st 8lb），这相当于我原体重的 44%。我不断地检查自己的身体部位，因为在过去的两年半里，我减轻了近 61kg（即 9st 8lb），这相当于我原体重的 44%。如今我的体重是 75kg（即 11st 11lb）——恰好处于健康 BMI 的中间值。

我拥有了一个新身体。不过并非“全新”。如果在 Vinted 或 eBay 上，我会考虑将自己描述为“极好”——轻微使用，状况极佳，有微小瑕疵——然后不情愿地承认“良好”更为准确：经常使用，有磨损迹象，但仍能良好运行。毕竟，我已经 50 多岁了，正努力不让自己掉到“合格”级别。

我应该补充一点，这次减肥一直处于相当可控的状态，并非某种严重疾病或精神疾病的结果。它始于饮食和运动——大量的苹果、酸奶以及从沙发到 5 公里的跑步计划——直到去年 4 月，我通过开 Mounjaro 处方并骑车上班，大大加速了这一进程。显示我每日称重情况的图表像一块在格洛斯特郡山坡上滚下的奶酪一样骤降。现在这条线像个跳台滑雪坡：它已经平缓下来，且自从 3 月起，随着我减少 Mounjaro 的剂量，我的体重一直维持在 73kg 到 77kg 之间。

从表面上看，这个新身体令人惊叹。在内部，它也相当棒。运动意味着我比我（轻微活跃的）青少年时期更加健康。在家里，我不会瘫在沙发上，也不需要费力撑起身体。在地铁里，我为了好玩会走应急楼梯。在 Vinted 上，我买的是我喜欢外观的衣服，而不是那些可能穿得下的衣服。

那么为什么只是“良好”而不是“极好”或“全新带吊牌”？因为虽然我的内脏缩小了，但我的皮肤没有。肚脐这个我曾经需要镜子才能看到的东西，在我的肚子消失后变得更容易检查。但它并不平坦。那里有下垂。在飞往韩国的飞机上，我发现了减重后的另一个好处：我的臀部不再因为被挤压在扶手上而淤青。

首尔是减肥药和美容手术的精神之都。该国在隆鼻、双眼皮手术和抽脂的人数比例方面经常位居国际榜首。“外貌至上”（Oemo jisang juui）是那些被韩国人广泛认可为问题但又顽固地难以改变的社会习俗之一。融入其中至关重要——你走不了多远就会遇到一家拍照亭，在那里可以拍一张准备发 Instagram 的 “人们问我是否想念以前的自己，我的性格是否改变了，或者人们是否把我当成另一个人对待” V字手势自拍，背景是一个模拟的纽约地铁站。

我当时在城里度假。我大概可以向江南区的 500 名整形外科医生中的一位申请某种皮肤紧致手术，但皮肤有点松弛并不困扰我。每当我照镜子时，那种轻微惊讶的快感依然没有消失。

事实上，我这次旅行中最有趣的部分发生在莲灯节期间，当时僧侣们带领游行庆祝佛诞。佛教徒的人数正在减少，今年出现了一些替代者：Seokja、Mohui、Gabi 和 Nisa，四个青少年大小的机器人，身穿僧袍，它们不拿灯笼，而是头部发出蓝光。作为一种噱头，它比中国公司今年早些时候推出的能后空翻、能踢功夫、能跑马拉松的机器人稍微逊色一些。机器人僧侣们在路边蹒跚而行，经过我们身边，然后某种“气”的紊乱导致其中一个开始摇晃。每个人都屏住呼吸，看它是否会摔倒。它以一种夸张的方式停了下来，就像有人在参加驾驶考试一样，然后又开始蹒跚前行。

回到英国，几周后在皇家学会的夏季展览上，我遇到了机器人技术的另一个前沿：精细动作技能。牛津机器人研究所的英格玛·波斯纳（Ingmar Posner）及其团队正试图制造出既实用又具有“模因”潜力的机器人。这位应用人工智能教授展示了“弗兰克”（Frank），它拥有两条章鱼手臂，末端的钳形爪可以抓取并堆叠积木。在弗兰克旁边是一个脱离身体的机器人手，像是一种乐高手套，每个关节都伸出液压触须。它能以类似人类的灵巧度抓起球或香蕉，因为它拥有柔软的触觉敏感垫，模拟了我们手指和手掌上的垫层。它可以触摸并感知物体。这只手是波斯纳团队与中国人——如果不是韩国的机器人僧侣的话——之间的一场竞赛，因为巨大的技术挑战在于如何让这些垫层足够耐用。未来的手将不再像《亚当斯一家》里的“小手”（Thing）那样脱离身体，而是像弗兰克那样连接在手臂上，并安装在不会摇晃的身体上。其目的是制造一个能完成人类所做之事的机器人——也许是安装一些架子，清理碎片，然后泡杯茶并在之后洗碗。既然我们生活在一个为人形而设计的世界里，这些通用机器人的最佳设计就是类人型。

随着机器人变得越来越像人，我正变得越来越像机器人。跑步和骑行涉及那种工厂机器人天生擅长的重复性动作，但却给我的身体带来了不自然的 24 --- SOPHIA EVANS: ALL PICTURES USED IN ARTWORK BY GETTY IMAGES 压力。如果弗兰克的一条章鱼手臂出了故障，牛津团队可以更换它。但如果出了问题，我无法将一根肌腱更换为闪亮的“带标签全新”版本。而问题确实出现了：膝盖酸痛；臀部抽搐；数月的蹬车和跑步导致了劳损（这在增强某些肌肉的同时，让其他肌肉萎缩）。由于多年承载 140kg 的体重，我的小腿肌肉非常发达，但我的腿后腱却很弱。我的膝盖疼痛是因为其中一块大腿肌肉太弱了。修复这些疼痛需要进行大量奇特的练习，比如北欧卷曲（Nordic curls）和保加利亚分腿蹲（Bulgarian split-squats），即便如此，也无法保证我能摆脱疼痛。

重复性运动并非人类身体与机器人趋同的唯一方式。每周注射 Mounjaro 和 Wegovy（及其新的药片替代品），就像抗衰老面霜、染发剂或首尔那些奇怪的 K-beauty 精华液一样，都是生物工程的尝试。但如果我能直接更换一根肌腱或换一套新皮肤，我还会是同一个人吗？这就是普鲁塔克关于“忒修斯之船”的悖论在肉体上的体现：如果你更换了一艘船上的每一块木板，它还是同一艘船吗？如果你用旧木板造了一艘新船又会怎样？既然我身体的细胞一直在死亡并自我更新，我觉得我依然会是同一个人。安装起搏器或使用假肢并不会让我们变得不像自己。但并非我所有的朋友都同意。认识我超过两年的人有时会问，我是否想念以前的自己，我的性格是否发生了变化，或者人们是否把我当成了另一个人。对此的回答是 1) 没有（我还是我），2) 没有（我依然那么讨人厌）以及 3) 没有（而且这有点令人失望）。

为什么令人失望？因为减重是我想象中通往更强自信、更多事业成功和更好社交生活的路径，但这些指标的指针并未移动。我之前试图缩小体型并侧身让路的本能并没有太大改变。过去我会环顾四周看是否有人在看我，并在确认没人看时在心中松一口气；现在我依然环顾四周，并发现人们同样缺乏兴趣。西蒙娜·德·波伏娃将男性描述为默认的人类，但在《第二性》出版 77 年后的今天，在我们新的注意力经济中，将我们称为一张白纸似乎更准确。男人看起来相当无趣，尤其是中年男人。我们

“我担心如果我现在不穿紧身衣服，等我停止使用 GLP-1 类药物并重新长回所有体重时，我就没机会穿了”

再给一个人留个位置：今天的詹姆斯·塔珀（James Tapper）以及（左图）他在减重 60 多公斤之前的样子 几乎像中年女性一样被忽视。我的应对方式是在二手服装应用上搜寻过于紧身的上衣，并维持了几个月的幻想，认为在如今流行桶形宽松裤的时代，我依然能驾驭微喇牛仔裤，而不会看起来像要去参加 70 年代的迪斯科舞会。皮夹克。彩色腰带。山本耀司（Yohji Yamamoto）的 T 恤。为了让肤色看起来更黝黑而穿的保罗·史密斯（Paul Smith）亮色条纹衬衫。这在一定程度上源于恐惧——如果我现在不穿紧身衣服，等我停止使用 GLP-1 类药物并重新长回所有体重时，我就没机会穿了。这一切的核心是对第一个问题的更坦诚的回答：我想念以前的自己吗？不，我依然在这里——我依然是那个靠吃喝让自己长到 140 公斤的同一个人。是我找到了回到年轻时略带运动状态的方法？还是我只是一个被锁在二手 Helmut Lang 衬衫里的胖子？

英格玛·波斯纳（Ingmar Posner）在英国皇家学会向我解释道，机器人竞赛的第二部分是心理层面的。一个通用机器人不仅需要一个能够走动和操纵物品的可用身体，还需要能够解读世界并理解自己在其中的位置。波斯纳使用了“具身智能”（embodied intelligence）这个词，这意味着机器人的形状是其 AI 的一部分。弹簧玩具（Slinky）能走下楼梯；人们设计出了无需控制即可走下斜坡的腿。这意味着 AI 不需要计算每一个微小的调整。去年我访问了瑞士，去观看一名瘫痪男子重新行走。马库斯·克莱门茨（Markus Klementz）在一次滑雪事故中脊柱骨折；七年后，得益于脊柱和大脑中的植入物，他在洛桑的格雷瓜尔·库廷（Grégoire Courtine）教授的诊所里迈出了他人生中第一步蹒跚的步伐。这次非凡突破的关键在于克莱门茨脊柱中的神经元。它们就像原始的大脑细胞，能够告诉他的腿如何移动。将正确的电脉冲传导至正确的脊髓神经元，就能让它们做出行走动作。脊髓植入物提供脉冲；大脑植入物与脊髓植入物通信，从而使克莱门茨能够再次控制自己的腿。脊髓神经元是一种具身智能。

因此，对于朋友们问我的那个问题——我的新身体是否改变了我的性格？——更深层的答案则更为微妙。因为不再被挤在飞机座椅里，我的性格发生了变化，因为我在世界中的位置不同了。我不再那么频繁地撞到东西，身上神秘的淤青也减少了。我做事的方式不同了，走路的方式不同了，关注点也不同了。我会多带几件衣服以抵御强劲的空调风。这时，我将自己与 AI 机器人的类比开始摇晃并摔了个狗吃屎。我有自我意识，而 AI 没有。但如果我的新身体让我思考方式发生了变化，这意味着它在某种程度上改变了我的大脑，那么这对弗兰克（Frank）和其他机器人意味着什么？也许，如果人们不从一个能够看、听、感觉的机器人开始，那么试图制造出具有自我意识的 AI 注定会失败。无论胖瘦，我的身体以我无法逃避的方式定义着我。它是我理解世界、与世界互动的唯一途径。自从有人剪断我的脐带起，一直如此。 ● 25

观察者报商店 # 为热门读物省钱

在这个夏天，在观察者报商店购买最热门的平装书可享受 15% 的折扣。请访问 observershop.co.uk / paperbacks 或致电 020 3176 2930。 *在线订单满 £25 免英国境内邮费。所有通过电话下的订单将收取最低 £2.99 的配送费。

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家与远方 p33

是时候计划一次马耳他之旅了

店主兼设计师 OLIVER SPENCER 在他的布卢姆斯伯里工作室里找到了一个都市荒岛。

我的工作室位于一座旧维多利亚时代济贫院的一楼，感觉就像市中心的一片绿洲。在西伦敦的家里，我有三个孩子和一只狗在跑来跑去，简直是一片混乱。而距离家仅 20 分钟路程的工作室，则是一个完全不同的、更令人放松的地方。被布料——那些颜色和质感——包围，让我瞬间感到平静。

— 这里很少无聊，也很少安静。一端是我共事的所有女士，另一端是一张我们设计服装的大桌子。我不把她们称为我的“团队”，因为这里非常民主。大多数时候气氛很愉快，尽管偶尔在事情不顺心时会变得有点紧张。没有人是完美的。不设办公室是我刻意选择的——这样我可以远离办公桌，处于一个创意空间中。我尽量完全不带手机，但我不能说每次都能做到。

— 工作是我的爱好，也是我生活中热爱的事情之一。当你进入状态时，有点像在做运动：你会非常投入，时间飞逝。这就是为什么我知道这个工作室是个好地方，因为一天过得非常快。总有新东西让我观察，总有关于服装、饰边和组合系列讨论的话题。它是我在城市中的荒岛。

• 讲述给 HAYLEY MYERS • 肖像 AMANDA FORDYCE 27

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家与远方

在萨福克郡，一座充满收藏家宝藏的别墅 28 --- HOME & AWAY

古董商本杰明·史密斯（Benjamin Smith），42岁，对于任何深入询问其业务——“丑闻学校” (@theschoolforscandal) 具体细节的人，他都有一个标准的回答。“我会告诉他们，我买卖古怪的玩意儿，”他说。

史密斯在萨福克郡的家——位于沿海小镇洛伊斯托夫特（Lowestoft），是一套横跨两栋维多利亚时代别墅的公寓——讲述了另一个更为丰富的故事。这座建筑由企业家兼工程师塞缪尔·佩托（Samuel Peto）在19世纪60年代为富有的铁路业主家庭建造，并于1982年被改造成公寓，其海滨的宏伟规模实际上成了史密斯贪婪收藏欲的仓库。他所谓的“习惯”多年来不断升级，覆盖了他与伴侣海莉·米勒（Hayley Miller，42岁）、孩子阿尔伯特（Albert，7岁）和佩吉（Peggy，6岁）以及腊肠犬雷吉（Reggie）共同居住的、空间宽敞如阿拉丁洞穴般的室内空间的每一寸。

文字 AIMEE FARRELL • 摄影 JASPER FRY 29 --- HOME & AWAY

最初，这始于从诺里奇（Norwich）的垃圾桶中抢救古旧书籍，以及对20世纪医疗器械（从牙医椅到实验室橱柜的所有东西）的痴迷，到2012年，这已演变成一项规模完整的伦敦业务。“随着物品售出，我需要替换它们，然后其他东西又会激起我的兴趣，”史密斯说。他在进入短暂的专业套利赌徒生涯（其收益支撑了收藏活动）之前，曾在切尔西艺术学院学习纯艺术。

这对夫妇在2017年回到了他们的萨福克根基，最初接手了建筑内的一套单卧室公寓（随后逐渐收购并合并了另外两套）。他们开始剥离室内装饰，在全屋安装回收的时期壁炉和维多利亚时代的铸铁散热器，并修复巨大的推拉窗、原始松木地板和华丽的石膏线顶角（在厨房里，花卉和茛叶图案营造出一种庄重的氛围）。正是这些时代细节最初吸引了他们。“当我们来看房时，我们被这座建筑震撼得简直没注意到它没有天花板灯，”米勒说。

直到2020年米勒怀上第二个孩子，他们才发现自己渴望更多的空间。史密斯执着地找到了相邻公寓的所有者——该公寓在过去15年里一直被非法占用——并提出了报价。甚至在他们还不知道是否能打通墙壁之前，报价就被接受了。随后，史密斯凭一己之力清理了室内由前住户留下的40吨垃圾。“那简直是一片Nesquik巧克力牛奶盒的海洋，”他说。

不过你现在看不出来了。现在这套三卧室的空间从东侧进入，是一个刷成荷兰橙色的狭长高顶走廊。进入其中，便会被琳琅满目的物品冲击：从一座古老的酒馆钟，到一只巨大的皮革巴尔莫勒靴（20世纪初鞋匠技艺的展示），再到一组让人想起这座房子辉煌初期的仆人铃。在进入相邻厨房的门上方，悬挂着一个巨大的荷斯坦种公牛标本头。

没有任何表面能逃过史密斯的布置。甚至门框顶部也成了贝壳和地质标本的展台。每一件物品都是一堂生动的历史课：在紧邻厨房的起居室里，一个由史密斯设计并由其叔叔打造的巨型橱柜赫然在目；铸铁柱支撑着 Doulton & Co 的管家水槽。

讣告画（hatchment）——一种用于标志贵族死亡的彩色画布纹章，在本例中是亨利·奥格兰德爵士（Sir Henry Oglander）的——悬挂在一款手绘版印花亚麻 Howard & Sons 风格沙发（这是屋里仅有的几件新物品之一）上方。附近的烟囱胸墙上摆放着一个庞大的维多利亚时代贝壳收藏，巨大的凸窗上则挂着从一座乡村庄园拍卖会上购得的 19世纪刺绣窗帘。总而言之，这里呈现出一种辉煌的狂乱感。史密斯从未停止过摆弄。每当他获得一件新物品，家人回来时就会发现所有东西都被重新排列了。“那样就浪费了一整天，”他说。最近，他一直在完善家庭厨房（接下来是浴室）。房间里最新增加的是一组来自某座古老庄园蔬菜花园的果蔬标牌——他将它们串在天花板上。厨房是围绕着一张巨大的松木哥特复兴式餐桌设计的，这张桌子是史密斯用两幅画从另一位商人那里换来的。“我们不得不把它从窗户搬进来，”他说。目前桌上放着一个海马形状的雕花贴金木制自行车（当然）。“它来自苏特罗浴场（Sutro Baths），”史密斯在谈到这座由政治家在19世纪90年代短暂建立的旧金山公共浴场时说道，并且 → 30 --- HOME & AWAY 之前入口大厅的窗台上放着一对晶体结构模型。在起居室里，刺绣窗帘与一座阿波罗胸像、一盏新艺术风格的埃米尔·加莱（Emile Galle）蘑菇灯以及一张乌沙克（Oushak）地毯相映成趣 31 --- HOME & AWAY

史密斯体现了一种极繁主义的英式古怪。 “这是我的创意出口，”他说道。工程师阿道夫·苏特罗（Adolph Sutro）。“电影制作人乔治·卢卡斯拥有另外仅存的九件之一。”这个房间迅速成为了这个家庭的社交中心。夜晚，这里沐浴在杰斐逊玻璃公司（Jefferson Glass Company）的一排爱德华时代吊灯所发出的乳白色光芒中。它的改造是一个循序渐进的家庭工程。所有的橱柜都是由史密斯的叔叔詹姆斯·库珀（James Cooper）在数年间手工制作的。“我会带着我的图纸和尺寸去找他，我们在木材场买四根木料，然后他就会开始尝试，一次做一个橱柜，”他说。这个空间最古怪的特点是一对赤陶色的铸铁柱，支撑着道尔顿公司（Doulton & Co）的装饰性管家水槽。由于每根柱子的重量约为500公斤，必须在地面安装金属板以支撑其重量。“这需要一点土木工程知识，”他说。这个空间不仅是一个折衷主义的家庭住宅，还为史密斯不断流转的古董库存提供了一个上镜的背景，并作为面向客户的预约展厅。访客包括电影制作公司（一把破旧的皮革俱乐部椅最终出现在了《哈利·波特》中）、伦敦的大型经销商以及议会大厦的档案管理员，后者买回了一个最初来自上议院的椴木石膏贴金天花板细节。史密斯一直被超现实和奇特的事物所吸引，他将自己不寻常的审美归功于他的纯艺术背景，以及对被他称为“古怪的英国收藏家”的人们终身痴迷。史密斯同样体现了一种极繁主义的英式古怪。“这是我的创意出口，”他坐在客厅深绿色的天花板下说道，受16世纪德国“好奇心之屋”（wunderkammer）的启发，那里栖息着一对鳄鱼标本。“这就是我脑海中的感觉——我永远不想离开。” ● 32 --- HOME & AWAY

CASA BONAVITA

这家拥有17间卧室的酒店完全隐藏在街道之外，是一项倾注心血的工程。几乎所有东西都由当地的木匠和石匠打造，配有手绘瓷砖、定制的de Gournay壁纸，以及为泳池遮阳的阳光色扇形遮阳伞。一家极繁主义的地中海宾馆。

THE VILLA BOLOGNA RESTAURANT

由索菲·爱德华兹（Sophie Edwards）和罗利·爱德华兹（Rowley Edwards）经营，这是位于博洛尼亚别墅（Villa Bologna）花园里的一家小餐馆。菜单上有精致的里科塔芝士西葫芦薄片，以及茴香橙香烤海鲈鱼，全部盛在他们自家陶艺厂色彩鲜艳的手绘餐具中。客人们可以预订亮蓝色的网球场进行午餐前的比赛。

周边环境

ATTARD

马耳他 阿塔德（Attard）远离岛上最繁忙的地点，是马耳他历史悠久的“三个村庄”之一。今年，Casa Bonavita的开业使其安静的小巷和石灰岩宫殿更加出名。Rug Company的创始人苏珊·夏普（Suzanne Sharp）和克里斯托弗·夏普（Christopher Sharp）是其背后的推手——苏珊出生在这个岛上，这对夫妇在过去五年里将一座18世纪的宫殿改造成为了一家小型酒店。在一个一年有超过300个晴天的岛屿上，这里就是度过这些时光的绝佳之地。 • TABITHA JOYCE

SAN ANTON PALACE GARDENS

这些精致的17世纪花园环绕着马耳他总统的官邸。按照传统，到访的国家元首会种下一棵树，从而形成了一个非凡的收藏，涵盖了从高耸的诺福克岛松到蓝花楹和古老的橄榄树。

科林西亚宫殿酒店 (CORINTHIA PALACE)

这是原初的科林西亚酒店，围绕着一座新古典主义石灰岩别墅而建，就在圣安东花园的正对面。这里有大量的大理石和一座巨大的室外泳池，无论您是否入住，其“秘密花园”餐厅都是品尝西瓜、黑橄榄和 Gbejna 奶酪沙拉的绝佳去处。

三村徒步之旅 (THE THREE VILLAGES WALK)

先在阿塔德（Attard）的 Saracino's Trattoria 喝一杯浓缩咖啡开启行程，漫步穿过巴尔赞（Balzan）狭窄蜿蜒的街道，前往利雅（Lija）那座带有沙色调的巴洛克风格教区教堂，最后在充满活力的乡村酒吧 Grasshopper 享用一杯餐前酒结束旅程。

博洛尼亚别墅陶艺店 (VILLA BOLOGNA POTTERY)

索菲·爱德华兹（Sophie Edwards）和她的丈夫罗利（Rowley）接手了这家陶艺店，这里至今仍沿用 1924 年开业时的相同工艺。店内摆满了鱼形水壶，以及俏皮的存钱罐和肥皂碟。

33

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不再是那一杯常规酒

一个充满本土特色的葡萄酒新世界。出人意料的英伦风情。难以置信的绝佳品质。

英格兰非凡之酒 (THE UNCOMMON WINE OF ENGLAND) 在 Waitrose 和 Ocado 寻找我们 理性饮酒 / wearetheuncommon.co.uk 经认证的 B 型企业 (Certified B Corporation)

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家与远方 (HOME & AWAY)

夏洛特·门德尔森 (CHARLOTTE MENDELSON)

走进荒野 (INTO THE WILD)

“谁想去动物园？我不想。但我那热爱动物的女友简直没法给她买礼物”

这本应是一次爱的行动。成年之后，谁还想去动物园？反正我不想：那些混凝土，那些忧伤。即便在童年，我记得每次参观当地的科茨沃尔德野生动物园（Cotswold Wildlife Park）时，那种紧绷的兴奋感完全是针对礼品店及其系列轻盈皮毛的赛璐珞熊猫。但我那热爱动物的女友简直没法给她买礼物；当我听说科茨沃尔德野生动物园（没错，就是那里）有一项为期一天的“饲养员体验”时，我给她报名了。遗憾的是，她的票也允许我进入。示例行程单上的“大型哺乳动物（包括长颈鹿）”含糊得明显；我们注定要度过一个向狐獴扔生菜的失望之日。唉，爱就是爱。我轻咬牙关，跟着她前往活动1：农场。那里……还行。豚鼠在唧唧喳喳，驴子，以及——打个冷颤——一个小房间，当饲养员和（没错）我的女友带着食物进入时，数十只老鼠兴奋地在彼此身上爬来爬去。我用周围绝妙的植被来分散注意力：乡村花园与戏剧性的热带风情相结合。与此同时，我的女友在拥抱一只山羊。还剩七个小时。

接下来是犀牛。母犀牛及其强壮的幼崽被一道浅浅的隐形壕沟（ha-ha）与我们隔开，或者说反之亦然；它们体型庞大，呈灰色，最有趣的地方在于它们的集体名词是“crash”（撞击 / 犀牛群）。直到我们在私人住所见到它们的雄性先祖蒙蒂（Monty）时，犀牛的辉煌才开始显现。蒙蒂重3.5吨，被归类为危险动物，但仅仅是因为它完全没意识到自己的体型；我们抚摸它的角和泥泞的耳朵，对其温顺程度感到惊讶。坦白说，光有蒙蒂就足够了。但随后我们向企鹅扔小杂鱼（有点吓人：一百名游客在围观）；被狐猴围攻——它们就像充满爱心的Jellycat玩偶，腰部叉开，放松地裹在自己条纹状的尾巴里；拥抱貘尘土飞扬的侧腹，抓挠它们简陋的莫西干发型。喂养巨大野兽时那种温柔的亲密感令人震撼：长颈鹿低垂着凹凸不平的脸，剥食枫树叶；巨龟的靠近由我们用胡萝卜块来控制，就像开着一辆1984年的沃尔沃240旅行车，极其缓慢地进行176点转向。

每一次跨物种的互动都如此惊心动魄，以至于错过树懒（“在躲藏”）、巴西金蛛和长臂猿反而像是一种解脱。我差点跳过了果蝠。好吧，我试过了；你看我的头发（乱成那样）？但我被迷住了：在它们温暖、阴暗的家中，最小的蝙蝠像蜂鸟一样飞掠，直接从我们手中啃食香蕉。现在我也爱蝙蝠了——就这么简单。虽然不像我爱蒙蒂那样深。或者爱那些饲养员。他们的自豪感和知识储备如此动人。他们与所照顾动物之间那种随意的熟稔令人愉悦，就像在和老师们八卦：狐猴（“笨但漂亮”）；水獭（“完全是野蛮之徒”）；犀牛的便便像一堆炮弹；袋熊产出立方体；树懒每周排泄一次；其他动物则会建立整洁的厕所，或者“到处乱拉”。

这份工作中很多部分是枯燥的：清理粪便、砍玉米棒，以及通过对讲机传来的小危机（滋滋声“有个孩子在滑梯上撒尿了”）。然后他们会说类似这样的话：“以前照顾过一只像这么大的河豚，它认得我，”或者“毛里求斯粉鸽蛋——我用指甲油把它修好了。”或者，令人难过地，坦白人类行为是如何退化的：尽管有清晰的标识，仍有人爬进围栏，给长颈鹿喂杂草。为了额外的刺激，我们穿过办公室，在那里我们看到了白板，上面列着企鹅夫妇（Dam CUSTARD / Sire WINSTON / Egg 1 v; HEATHER + CHESTER / 代养）；塑封的饮食表；用于捕捉哺乳动物的带兜的撑杆；一张长颈鹿粪便评分表（2023年，但大概率仍然有效）。我在礼品店里寻找这张表，但徒劳无功。

精疲力竭且心潮澎湃，我们蹒跚着走回家，从那时起就没停止过讨论貘那短小可爱的鼻子，以及蒙蒂那充满信任的友好。终于，我设法给我的女朋友买到了她真正想要的东西；而且，在不经意间，也给自己买了一件。能与这么多稀有物种面对面，是多么荣幸的一件事。“如果你必须选择，”我问她，“哪一个最令人惊叹？”她甚至没有停下来思考。“老鼠。” • 夏洛特·门德尔森（Charlotte Mendelson）是《观察者报》的专栏作家、小说家，也是一名热衷于（尽管并非专家）的园丁 ALAMY 35 --- THE OBSERVER

文化俱乐部

展览

苏尔巴兰 (Zurbarán) 展于国家美术馆 / 2 for 1 门票，节省 £22

节日

HowTheLightGetsIn / 门票 20% 折扣，最高节省 £32 Psych Fest / 门票 20% 折扣，节省 £20

旅行与体验

了解更多 在 observer.co.uk / culture-club 解锁这些及更多优惠

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渴望

阳光下的午餐

厨房日记 奈杰尔·斯莱特 (NIGEL SLATER)

在这些盛夏的日子里，烤箱开启的时间很短——仅足够烤一条抹了香草黄油的鱼，或者烤一只在皮下塞入调味黄油的鸡，以便冷食。上周，我用迷迭香黄油和熟食店买的帕尔马火腿片包裹住结实、洁白的鮟鱇鱼柳，并在旁边放了几颗土豆一起烤。这道菜散发着深夏的气息，带着在热力中烘烤的香草味，我们在户外享用了它。尽管它从烤箱中取出时还在滋滋作响，但这正是那些 → 肖像 查理·克利夫特 (CHARLIE CLIFT) 37 --- 渴望 无论是温食还是热食都同样美味的菜肴，这类食谱似乎与夏季饮食相得益彰。

此外，还有切成厚片的黑皮番茄，淋上浓稠的罗勒油醋汁。我们用它们代替通常的面包来蘸盘中的汤汁。至于面包，我们将其切成圆片，刷上橄榄油，然后烤至酥脆。在鱼肉之前，我们先吃了抹上黑橄榄碎和鳀鱼混合物的面包。

如果反正要开烤箱，我会放入一个烤盘土豆，切小块以便快速煮熟，拌入橄榄油和少许大蒜泥，或者撒上一些切碎的百里香或长枝迷迭香。如果你有的话，此时加入夏季萨维香草也会很不错。

本周的大部分甜点都与水果有关。对半切开并去核的樱桃，浸在红酒杯中；黑莓撒上少许糖，加入少许黑醋栗利口酒加热，然后淋在香草冰淇淋上；杏子对半切开，用蜂蜜烤至软烂。这也是拿出橙花水的时机，只需加入一点点，就能增添一丝花香，而这量必然比你想象的要少。我还为草莓制作甜酱：用叉子将覆盆子压成泥，然后拌入少量细碎的薄荷和少许柠檬汁。这是冰淇淋圣代的一个绝佳搭配。

本周有两次，午餐几乎就是面包和奶酪。第一次是山羊奶酪、杏子和酸绿葡萄；另一天则是菲塔奶酪，我将其与干百里香、橄榄油和擦碎的大蒜混合压碎，然后厚厚地抹在烤过的法棍面包片上。在最炎热的下午，享受这些慵懒且风味浓郁的午餐。

最后我们只需要一些水果收尾。家里的一种常年甜点——几乎只在天气太热无法烘焙时制作——是用果汁糖浆和软香草腌制的甜瓜。我通常使用接骨木花糖浆，因为它带有类似麝香葡萄的浓郁气息，但你也可以使用黑加仑糖浆并加入苏打水。这类午餐收尾的成败取决于食用时的温度。必须是深度冷藏才行。如果时间紧迫，在最后时刻丢入几块冰块即可。

帕尔马火腿迷迭香黄油鮟鱇鱼 3人份。准备时间 1 小时 土豆 600g 橄榄油 3 tbsp 黄油 60g 迷迭香叶 2 tbsp 鮟鱇鱼柳 2 x 300g 帕尔马火腿 6 片（大且薄） 将中锅水烧开，加入少量盐。土豆去皮，切块（比平时烤土豆切的块稍小），然后放入沸水中。煮 12-15 分钟，直到金属签插入时几乎没有阻力。 38 照片 JONATHAN LOVEKIN --- CRAVINGS ‘在这家里，当天气太热无法烘焙时，一份用果汁腌制的甜瓜就是常年不变的甜点’ ## 接骨木花香草腌甜瓜 用手轻轻揉搓各种香草叶可以将其油脂释放到腌料中。糖浆应彻底冷藏。 4人份。准备时间 30 分钟，另加冷藏时间 接骨木花糖浆 50ml 矿泉水 750ml，冷藏 薄荷 6 枝（茂盛的） 罗勒叶 12 片（大的） 柠檬马鞭草（可选，但效果极佳） 哈密瓜 1 个 (750g) 西瓜 750g 将接骨木花糖浆倒入水壶，倒入矿泉水并充分搅拌。清洗薄荷枝，放入深碗中，在放入过程中用手轻轻揉搓叶片以释放香味。对罗勒以及（如果使用的话）柠檬马鞭草执行同样操作。将接骨木花饮品倒入香草中并搅拌。将哈密瓜去皮，然后将果肉切成勺子大小的块，过程中去除种子，随后加入接骨木花腌料中。对西瓜重复此操作。放入冰箱冷藏 2 小时，直到彻底冰凉。将甜瓜盛在玻璃杯或碗中，然后将接骨木花糖浆滤在水果上。 ● 将烤箱预热至 200℃ / 煤气档 6。沥干土豆，将其转移到烤盘或烘焙皿中，留出足够空间以便稍后放入鱼肉。在土豆上淋少许橄榄油，烤 25 分钟。将黄油置于室温。将迷迭香叶切碎，加入少量盐和黑胡椒揉入黄油中。将鮟鱇鱼柳切成短且厚的小块（每片鱼柳约切 3 块）。在浅锅中加热迷迭香黄油。当黄油开始起泡沫时，将鮟鱇鱼块放入锅中，短暂煎至上色。翻面再煮 1 到 2 分钟，然后离火。将一片火腿铺在工作台上。在上面放一块鮟鱇鱼，用火腿将其卷起，然后放入烘焙皿或烤盘中。对剩余的火腿片和鮟鱇鱼块重复此操作。将土豆从烤箱中取出，在油中稍微翻炒。将土豆推至容器边缘，为鱼肉腾出空间。将卷好的鮟鱇鱼放入烤盘。将剩余的黄油淋在顶部，烘烤 15-20 分钟。每位用餐者分 2 块鱼肉和部分土豆。 39 --- CRAVINGS 食物造型：EMMA CANTLAY，专业造型：LOUIS WALLER 40 --- CRAVINGS GEORGINA HAYDEN

锦上添花

在我的厨房里，夏天总是伴随着蛋糕而至。由于我直系亲属的生日都落在春末到初秋之间，这个季节的标志不仅是漫长的夜晚和浆果的上市，还有一层层海绵蛋糕。每年我都会为接收者量身定制一款新蛋糕：选他们最喜欢的口味和配色，主题则围绕着孩子们当时痴迷的任何事物。

在我成长过程中，我妈妈制作了几乎所有的生日蛋糕，我现在依然能想象出它们的样子。一座覆盖着大理石纹糖霜、点缀着细小粉色裱花玫瑰的小屋；一台灰色唱机，顶端放着一张盘绕的甘草黑巧唱片；还有她美式烘焙芝士蛋糕，上面堆满了夏季浆果。那些蛋糕充满魔力，且总是倾注了爱。

现在，接力棒传到了我手中，为我爱的人制作蛋糕成了我最大的乐趣之一，也是我衡量季节的方式。其中不乏成功之作：季节限定版的三奶蛋糕（tres leches cake）、一款灵感来自 Tunnocks 焦糖威化饼的巧克力蛋糕，以及一款至今让我心心念念的层叠浆果里科塔奶酪蛋糕。当然也有不那么成功的尝试，最近的一款是香草樱桃海绵蛋糕，外层抹面试图模仿攀岩墙，虽然味道极佳，但视觉效果显然不如我想象中那么惊艳。

但夏日烘焙很少是为了追求完美。它关乎慷慨、丰盈与庆祝：那些将手指染色的柔软水果，小心翼翼地端进花园、守护着在微风中摇曳的烛火的蛋糕，以及在白昼漫长的日子里，将人们聚集在餐桌旁的那份独特喜悦。

樱桃杏仁蛋糕

在我们家，夏天意味着冷冻柜里的冰淇淋，每个家庭成员都会占据一个角落存放自己最喜欢的口味。我丈夫一直最爱的是 amarena（黑樱桃）：在牛奶意式冰淇淋中交织着糖浆樱桃。由于他的生日恰逢樱桃季的高峰，这就是我对他的庆祝方式。柔软的海绵蛋糕层、如云朵般轻盈的香草奶油和樱桃，将意大利冰淇淋店的愉悦感浓缩成了蛋糕的形式。

分量：12-16.人份。耗时：2小时，另加冷却时间

模具用黄油 杏仁粉 200g 普通面粉 100g 泡打粉 1 tsp 细海盐 ¼ tsp 大号鸡蛋 6, 个，蛋白蛋黄分离 细砂糖 200g 杏仁提取物 ½ tsp（可选） 奶油奶酪 500g 糖粉 250g，另需少量用于装饰 香草膏 1 tsp 双倍浓缩奶油 400ml amarena 樱桃 6 tbsp 新鲜樱桃 100g，用于装饰

将烤箱预热至 180℃ / 燃气档位 4. 在两个 20cm 的蛋糕模具底部抹油并铺上烘焙纸。在一个碗中将杏仁粉、普通面粉、泡打粉和海盐搅拌均匀，备用。将鸡蛋分离，将蛋白放入立式搅拌机的碗中。打发至硬性发泡，然后在搅拌机运行的同时缓慢地加入糖。加入杏仁提取物，继续搅拌 3 分钟，直到形成光亮、光滑的蛋白霜。逐个打入蛋黄。完全融合后，将杏仁和面粉混合物翻拌进去。用金属勺翻拌，使面糊保持轻盈。将其倒入准备好的模具中，烘烤 25-30 分钟，或直到牙签插入取出时没有残留物。在模具中冷却 10 分钟，然后脱模并将蛋糕转移到冷却架上。

待蛋糕完全冷却后，将其水平均匀地切成两半。滤掉奶油奶酪中的液体，然后将其舀入立式搅拌机的碗中。使用搅拌头，与糖粉一起搅拌几分钟，直到质地浓郁、顺滑。更换为打发头，加入香草膏和双倍浓缩奶油，搅拌约一分钟，直到形成轻盈如云朵般的奶油。密切观察，以免过度打发。

将一层海绵蛋糕放在托盘或蛋糕架上，在顶部抹上四分之一的奶油混合物。点缀并撕开 2 tbsp 的 amarena 樱桃（带少量糖浆没关系，但太多会导致蛋糕难以堆叠）。覆盖上第二层海绵蛋糕。重复此步骤；然后覆盖第三层并再次重复，直到用完最后的樱桃。覆盖上最后一层海绵蛋糕，并用剩余的奶油和新鲜樱桃随心装饰顶部。筛上少量糖粉——如果你喜欢，还可以淋上一些 amarena 糖浆。

→ “为我爱的人做蛋糕是我最大的快乐之一”

摄影 LAURA EDWARDS 41

渴望

覆盆子接骨木花蛋糕

每当我回到祖国塞浦路斯，在任何一家面包店里，我点单的第一样东西就是 Kok。这是一种精致的海绵蛋糕，轻轻刷上糖浆以保持其柔软，填入顺滑的凝固卡仕达酱，顶部覆盖着光亮的巧克力甘那许。这些通常是单人份的甜点，但在这里，我将其做成了我梦寐以求的派对蛋糕，并加入了一些我最喜爱的季节性口味。这是塞浦路斯的味道，为漫长而明亮的夏日而重新构思。

可供 12 人食用。耗时 90 分钟，另加冷却时间。

黄油（用于涂抹模具） 中筋面粉 100g，另需少量用于防粘 玉米淀粉 100g 大号鸡蛋 5 个，另加 3 个蛋黄 细海盐 ¼ 茶匙 细砂糖 275g 香草精 2 茶匙 接骨木花糖浆 8 汤匙 全脂牛奶 300ml 双倍奶油 275ml 白巧克力 150g 覆盆子 150g

用黄油给一个 20cm 的弹簧底蛋糕模具抹油，然后撒上面粉使其完全覆盖。将烤箱预热至 180℃ / 燃气档 4。将中筋面粉和 50g 玉米淀粉搅拌均匀，备用。将 5 个鸡蛋的分离，将蛋白放入带有海盐的立式搅拌机碗中。搅拌至出现硬挺的尖角，然后，在搅拌机继续运行的情况下，慢慢地舀入 150g 细砂糖。加入 1 茶匙香草精并搅拌 3 分钟，直到获得光亮顺滑的蛋白霜。将蛋黄一个接一个地打入。完全融合后，筛入面粉混合物。用金属勺将其全部翻拌均匀，直到形成轻盈的面糊。倒入模具中烘烤 25-30 分钟，直到插入中心的牙签取出时没有残留物。让蛋糕在模具中冷却 10 分钟，然后转移到冷却架上直到完全冷却。清洗模具，铺上 2 条长保鲜膜，交叉放置并让多余部分悬在外面。

当蛋糕冷却后，将其水平切成两半，将底座切面朝上放回模具中。刷上一半的接骨木花糖浆，然后放在一旁。在一个大汤锅中，将牛奶、200ml 奶油、75g 细砂糖和剩余的 1 茶匙香草精搅拌均匀。用中火加热。在一个搅拌碗中，将额外的 3 个蛋黄、剩余的 50g 细砂糖和 50g 玉米淀粉搅拌至顺滑。舀入一些热牛奶混合液并搅拌融合，然后倒入锅中。用中低火烹煮 2-3 分钟，直到获得顺滑、浓郁且浓稠的卡仕达酱。一旦准备就绪，将其倒入模具中的海绵蛋糕上。在剩余海绵蛋糕的切面上刷上剩余的接骨木花糖浆，切面朝下放在卡仕达酱之上。将悬出的保鲜膜包裹在蛋糕上，使其冷却，然后将模具放入冰箱冷藏至少 6 小时。

准备食用时，将白巧克力切成小块。放入碗中，加入剩余的 75ml 奶油，用微波炉加热至奶油温热且白巧克力融化即可。搅拌至顺滑。使其冷却并稍微浓稠。将蛋糕从模具中取出并撕掉保鲜膜——最简单的方法可能是直接将其倒扣在蛋糕托盘上。舀上白巧克力，顶部铺上覆盆子，即可食用。

42

CRAVINGS

巧克力西葫芦蛋糕

一款出色的巧克力烤盘蛋糕是每个人都应该收藏的食谱：制作简单，无需过多思考，且保证能被迅速吃光。在这道食谱中，擦碎的西葫芦赋予了海绵蛋糕一种柔软、像软糖般的质地。它非常像经典胡萝卜蛋糕的巧克力版本。而且它毫不繁琐——只需将所有食材搅拌在一起，烘烤，最后抹上几大勺巧克力黄油霜，如果愿意，还可以撒上装饰糖粒。

分量：16 人份。耗时：1 小时，另加冷却时间。

无盐黄油 200g，另需少量用于涂抹烤盘 可可粉 50g 橄榄油 150ml 白脱牛奶 120ml 浅色软红糖 180g 大号鸡蛋 4 个 香草精 1 tsp 西葫芦 2 个大号，约 350g 普通面粉 150g 黑麦面粉 125g 研磨小豆蔻 ½ tsp（可选） 小苏打 ½ 泡打粉 1½ 细海盐 ½ ，另加一小撮 黑巧克力 200g，70% 可可含量，切碎 糖粉 250g 装饰糖粒（可选）

将烤箱预热至 190℃ / 燃气档 5。在一个 20cm x 30cm 的烤盘中涂油并铺上烘焙纸。在一个大碗中，将可可粉与 6 tbsp 刚烧开的水混合至顺滑。搅拌入橄榄油、白脱牛奶、红糖、鸡蛋和香草精，直至顺滑。将西葫芦切除两端，粗略擦碎并搅拌进去。在另一个碗中，将两种面粉、小豆蔻、小苏打、泡打粉和盐搅拌均匀。将其翻拌入湿料中。搅拌入 50g 切碎的巧克力，并将面糊倒入铺好纸的烤盘中。放入烤箱烘烤 30 分钟，直到插入牙签取出时没有粘连。让蛋糕完全冷却。

制作巧克力黄油霜：将剩余 150g 切碎的黑巧克力在微波炉中融化，或放在盛有微沸水的耐热碗中隔水加热。巧克力刚融化后，将其移离热源或微波炉，冷却 10 分钟。将室温黄油放入带有搅拌头的独立搅拌机碗中。搅拌几分钟直至呈奶油状且顺滑，然后筛入糖粉并加入一小撮海盐。搅拌 3-4 分钟，直到颜色变得很浅且顺滑。倒入冷却的融化巧克力，再搅拌 1-2 分钟。你应该会得到像枕头一样蓬松的巧克力黄油霜。将黄油霜均匀地抹在冷却的蛋糕顶部，然后根据个人喜好进行装饰——我喜欢彩虹糖粒。

● “它制作起来足够简单，且保证能被迅速吃光”

43

---

渴望

Aktar Islam 负责了我人生中最顶级的几顿晚餐之一。那不是在 Kush（这位厨师在布里斯托的新店），而是在伯明翰的母店 Opheem，Islam 在那里实至名归地拥有两颗米其林星。几周前，我为了庆祝生日去了 Opheem，即便在开业大约八年后，那里依然令人惊叹。让这次体验如此愉悦的不仅是那些印度风味高级料理的华丽（一个顶着螃蟹、浸满咖喱黄油的迷你英式煎饼将永远留在我的记忆中）...

餐厅 REBECCA NICHOLSON Kush 12-16 Clifton Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1AF (kushbristol.co.uk)。两道菜 £25，三道菜 £30，四道菜 £35， 葡萄酒 £28 起，鸡尾酒 £12 起

...而是因为那是一个如此快乐的夜晚。最奢华的高级餐饮有时会显得枯燥且拘谨。而 Opheem 则展现出一种专业且热情的氛围，且永远感觉很特别。

伊斯兰（Islam）度过了忙碌的一年。今年5月，他在伦敦开设了 Oudh 1722，这是一家基于历史悠久的阿瓦德（Awadhi）美食的高概念餐厅，融合了莫卧儿、波斯和中亚的影响。Kush 餐厅于 2025 年宣布筹建，但在经历了一些延迟后，于今年6月在克利夫顿（Clifton）地区开业。在一次采访中，伊斯兰将这个理念描述为“一家传统的印度餐厅，但采用了更轻盈、更清新的方式”。Kush 的网站上充满了涂鸦图案和强有力的宣言。它承诺提供皇帝们曾享用的佳肴，以及在街角用纸盘匆匆食用的美食。在访问完 Opheem 后如此快地前往 Kush 也许是不公平的，就像在 Imax 观看《奥德赛》之后，又期待 BBC 的广播剧能带来同样的震撼。但任何能以非常合理的价格——两道菜 £25 起，四道菜 £35 起——品尝伊斯兰烹饪（无论是精致还是普通）的机会都应该被把握住。食物本身在大部分情况下都非常出色：口感浓郁，风味十足，一点也不矫揉造作，这种纵情享受的盛宴会让你在回家路上幻想解开一两个裤腰扣。在一个温暖的夏季周五晚上，当宽敞的 L 形房间里客人们轻微忙碌但并不拥挤时，我们选择了完整的四道菜，并加上了两份配菜。服务员（在少数几名服务员中的第一位）显得有些困惑。“抱歉，哪种配菜？”她问道，似乎没太听明白。我说“两样都要”，语气中带着一种后来被证明是傲慢的自信。当食物开始上桌时，她的不确定感就变得合理了。分量太多了。隔壁桌的人在盘子里挑挑拣拣，谈论着自己在服用 Mounjaro。而我们看起来就像是在抗议 Mounjaro 的存在。小吃很快就上来了：炭烤大豆 tikka 块，淋上粘稠的甜酱和一种火辣且美味的薄荷菠萝酸辣酱，以及 Amritsari 鱼，即用轻微调味的鹰嘴豆粉糊炸制的白鱼块。当另一名服务员把它们端上来时，她说鱼是大豆，反之亦然。这些菜看起来很像，而且没人是素食者，所以没关系，但这确实表明服务尚未完全掌控。前菜和主菜紧随其后。感觉我们可能在 44 照片 ADRIAN SHERRATT --- CRAVINGS

葡萄酒 大卫·威廉姆斯 小时。山下有一家不错的酒吧，我计划在那儿喝杯睡前酒。我们点了萨莫萨恰特（samosa chaat，不够酥脆但酸奶味很浓）和搭配乌塔帕姆（uthappam）的煎肝，这是当晚最强劲的一道菜——在任何意义上都是。轻盈、带有气泡的发酵米饼上点缀着番茄和红洋葱的小颗粒，用来蘸食一大堆浸在浓郁、油润且充满辣椒味的番茄基底咖喱中的软嫩鸡肝。“这感觉太成熟了，”我对我伴侣低声说道，被其大胆的口味所打动。这种味道的冲击让我对主菜充满了期待，而主菜在几乎没有喘息之机的情况下就上桌了。另一名服务员清理了桌面，看起来有些困惑，试图为所有菜品腾出足够的空间。我点了一道卡纳塔克邦的菜肴——芒格洛尔虾咖喱，需额外支付 £7。但四只孤独的裹粉炸大虾在略带辛辣味的番茄椰奶酱中游弋；在煎肝带来的快感之后，这是唯一真正的失望之作。卡代奶酪（Kadai paneer）好得多，鲜明的香料奶酪块和青椒带来了正宗的素食冲击力。我对配菜没有遗憾：一份奶油般顺滑、慢炖的黑豆达尔（dal makhani）和一份亮绿色、带有大蒜味的菠菜甜玉米帕拉克（palak），这两道菜即便作为主菜我也愿意食用。我想到了我的纽扣。我至少得解开三颗。随后，盘子在桌上放了很久没有被清理。服务员询问我们是否准备好点甜点。我们准备好了，但 40 分钟后，依然没有迹象。我们被问到是否能再等五分钟？我们等了 10 分钟。库尔菲法鲁达（kulfi falooda）和古拉布贾蒙芝士蛋糕（gulab jamun cheesecake）都是冷甜点，大概是流水线作业，味道还不错——尤其是芝士蛋糕旁边极甜的炼乳团子——但它们以一种缓慢且冷漠的耸肩结束了这顿饭。我们要求将剩余的食物打包，第二天在家里享用了一顿 Aktar Islam 品牌的午餐。我们讨论这是否是几家 Kush 餐厅中的第一家，是否 Islam 正在试水建立一个小连锁店。这纯属猜测，但感觉确实如此。就目前而言，还处于早期阶段。我们遇到的问题可能是初创期的阵痛。但布里斯托并不缺乏优秀的餐厅，显然 Kush 仍在摸索阶段。然而，食物中已有足够的暗示表明，如果它能稳定下来并缓口气，这可能会成为这座城市——以及其他城市——的一个受欢迎的新成员。 ●

走出盒子

对我而言，那是史上最伟大的声音之一，像鸟鸣一样令人心旷神怡，像皮革击中柳木一样充满希望，像披头士乐队《Tomorrow Never Knows》中林哥（Ringo）鼓点最初几次令人心跳加速的粗犷撞击与闷响一样纯粹地令人愉悦：那是软木塞弹出时如木琴般清脆的回响，是预示着即将到来的乐趣与快感的永恒信号。

不仅仅是声音。对我来说，用一把可靠、简单的侍酒师开瓶器拔出软木塞，是饮酒仪式中不可或缺的一部分，没有这个过程，感觉就总是不太一样。这是一种巴甫洛夫式的反应，根深蒂固，而且我认为在很大程度上是良性的。

对于一个自认为进步、开明且通常相当擅长接受甚至拥抱变革的人来说，唯一的缺点是，我对软木塞弹出声及其配套玻璃瓶的热爱，使得我在面对任何其他形式的葡萄酒包装时变得极其保守。无论酒质多么出色，如果它是装在盒子或罐子里的，在某种程度上，我总觉得它不是“真正的”葡萄酒。我想有这种感觉的人并不止我一个，而且这有一个相当充分的理由。简单来说，多年来，除瓶装以外的任何包装所提供的葡萄酒质量很少能算得上好。

即便在今天，你也很难在玻璃瓶以外的容器中找到顶级的葡萄酒，因为顶级的葡萄酒总是伴随着随时间而陈酿提升的承诺（即便它们最终被立即饮用），而袋装盒、塑料瓶、软袋或易拉罐的寿命大约只有12个月。而一个瓶装酒的最佳饮用期限——只要其中的酒适合陈酿，并且储存在正确、阴凉、干燥、潮湿且稳定的条件下——可以用十年为单位来衡量。

然而问题在于，如今大多数葡萄酒并非为了在乡村别墅的酒窖中优雅地陈酿而销售；大多数在购买后一周内就被消费，许多甚至更快。而在便利性方面，即使是像我这样的瓶装爱好者（phial-phile?）也不得不承认，它的竞争对手具有相当大的优势。在野餐或夏日傍晚在公园啜饮时，易拉罐每次都能胜过玻璃瓶。而袋装盒或软袋在开封后保持葡萄酒新鲜度方面远胜于玻璃瓶：只要放在冰箱里，袋装盒 / 软袋可以维持六周，而玻璃瓶大约只能维持一周左右。

鉴于所有这些优势，生产者提高装在盒子、软袋和易拉罐中的葡萄酒质量也就不足为奇了，以至于现在无需麻烦地去玻璃回收站也能买到一些不错的酒。对于易拉罐，选择大多局限于“相当不错、易于饮用”的范畴，而非真正卓越的作品，且每毫升的价格与全瓶装相比可能相当昂贵。但我会很乐意在参加音乐节的背包里塞上几罐 Mirabeau Prêt-a-Porter Rosé（£4, 25cl, Waitrose）、When in Rome Pecorino 干白（£3.50, 187ml, Ocado）或 Celliers des Dauphins Côtes du Rhône Réserve 红葡萄酒（£3.50, 20cl, Waitrose）。

与此同时，袋装盒的价格与瓶装更为接近，范围也广得多，包括：口感可靠、带有柠檬味且是南法海鲜绝配的 Domaine Félines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2025 三升装（相当于四瓶，£39, the Wine Society）；来自普罗旺斯、带有辛辣酸爽果园果香的 Domaine de la Mongestine Emergency Juice Orange 2025（£44, 3 litres, Gnarly Vines）；以及带有多汁蓝莓和樱桃风味的 M&S Classics Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina（£17, 1.5 litres, Ocado; Marks & Spencer）。尽管对我而言，它们在魅力上永远无法胜出，但在风味上都极具竞争力。 ●

本周推荐酒款 Domaine Félines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2025, £39, the Wine Society 45

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我的心事

ERICA WAGNER

这位美国作家兼评论家现居伦敦，著有数本广受好评的书籍，最新作品为《Wash》

对AI的焦虑：36%

我的房子还有更多工作要做。涉及布线的复杂事务，而且比我想象的要紧迫一些。得赶紧行动了。但怎么确定先做哪一项？什么时候把书从书架上移走 / 去慈善商店 / 清理楼梯下的橱柜 / 与电工沟通？现在，据我所知，一个名为“AI”的创新新服务尤其擅长此类事情。“ChatGPT，老伙计，”你会说，“给我列一个整理房子的执行顺序”——嘿，瞧，天哪，你得到了你的小清单！啧啧，真是个奇迹。也许你能猜到我对尝试这件事的态度。这件事竟然在我脑海中闪过，感觉就像……受到了撒旦的诱惑。任何认知任务都能教会你一些东西。如果我们放弃其中任何一项，后果将由我们自己承担。

面对气候危机：19%

我为什么住在英国？很大一部分原因是当我小时候在夏天从纽约市来到这里时，这里凉爽且潮湿。我和父母走在诺森伯兰郡宽阔且闪闪发光的沙滩上——我们都穿着派克大衣。好吧，现在成了我的笑话，对吧？或者更准确地说：随着气候危机使我们的农场干枯、关闭我们的学校、使我们的火车轨道变形，这成了我们所有人的笑话。为什么评论员们一直使用“热浪”这个词？这就是现在的天气。然而，有些人仍然在坚持“钻吧，宝贝，钻吧”（指继续开采石油）。真是不可思议。

爱上沙丁鱼：6%

微小的快乐值得关注：于是谈到卑微的沙丁鱼。我一直以为我讨厌它们。我曾是一个彻头彻尾的金枪鱼女孩。然而，突然之间：我渴望它们，我爱它们。一个烤热的恰巴塔面包卷，优质黄油，沙丁鱼，挤一点柠檬汁，黑胡椒。极乐。永远不嫌晚。

唐纳德·特朗普：15%

抱歉，我知道。你可能也不想看到这两个词。但如果我们要谈论占据心智空间，我无法避免对自己心中有多少“心理地产”被美国第45 / 47任总统占据而感到愤恨。接下来会发生什么？噢，不。一遍又一遍又一遍……这引导我们进入：

战争，我们又来了：14%

我刚从边境那边回来，在那里我有机会参观苏格兰的第一批战士（First Warriors），这是在爱丁堡的苏格兰国家博物馆举办的一个规模虽小但非常完整的展览。其展品序列（在苏格兰艺术家艾伦·麦高文迷人的画作衬托下）探讨了史前苏格兰冲突的起源和影响。或者更准确地说，正如策展人马修·奈特博士对我所说的：一群人随机地互相敲击头部，何时变成了某种更有组织、更深思熟虑的行为？展品之一是一把青铜时代的剑，1896年由一名猎场看守在乌拉普尔以南因弗布鲁姆附近的一块岩石裂缝中发现，保存完好。它美得令人震撼。我曾经是一名击剑运动员，我从未忘记手中握着一件武器——即使是剑尖钝掉的武器——是什么感觉。长矛、弓箭或小刀可以用于狩猎：但一旦你开始制造剑，你心中就只有一个目标，那就是杀死他人。随着伊朗的泥潭变得更加粘稠且更加致命，我们又来了。这就是我们人类所做的事。

在最大屏幕上观看《奥德赛》：10% 还能在什么地方看到一把英俊的青铜时代长剑？当然是在克里斯托弗·诺兰的《奥德赛》里了。是的，我抢到了一张Imax 70mm的电影票，而且，嗯，我希望我的观影体验能更好一些。说这部电影毫无乐趣，简直是轻描淡写；这里的奥德修斯不再是狡黠的骗子，而是一个忏悔的忧郁之辈。有趣的是，在许多以让马特·达蒙回家为目标的电影中（《拯救大兵瑞恩》、《星际穿越》、《火星救援》，以及现在的《奥德赛》），他的角色从来不是领导者，而是一个独行侠。奥德修斯身上究竟有什么特质，能说服人们跟随他走向毁灭的边缘？从诺兰那沉闷的讲述中，你不会得到任何答案。然而：这是一部每个人都在讨论的电影。电影院座无虚席。电影院还没有消亡，我们对此应当心存感激。如果你好奇为什么Imax电影院的票如此难抢，以及为什么70mm Imax影院如此之少，答案是——就像那把剑一样——Imax在某种意义上是一项古老的技术：据公司首席执行官理查德·盖尔丰德（Richard Gelfond）称，半个世纪以来没有生产过新的投影仪，而且以后可能也不会再生产了。青铜时代，Imax时代，一切都将逝去。 ●

46 插图 ALMA HASER --- # 让夏季款待变得毫不费力 # 购买任何带有CUBE且由Quooker工程师安装的Quooker系统，可节省 £401 优惠截止日期：2026年8月31日 探索Quooker如何改变你的夏天。只需一个水龙头，即可享受即时的 100℃ 沸水、冰水和气泡水。Quooker水龙头可在两小时内安装在您现有的厨房中，使用简单，且一旦使用就无法离弃。节省时间。节能。安全。Quooker在改变日常厨房任务的同时，还能帮您节省时间，减少浪费，并有助于提高安全性。在您自己的家中观看其实际运行情况。预约我们的专家团队进行免费的实时虚拟演示。他们将为您一对一地介绍各项功能并回答任何问题。扫描二维码以解锁专属优惠并安排虚拟演示，或访问 quooker.co.uk 体验中心 Beaumont Buildings, Great Ducie Street, Manchester, M3 1PQ “ Quooker不仅仅是一个水龙头，它是厨房里的游戏规则改变者，而且这种公司会让你觉得钱花在了正确的地方。 ” # Quooker® 100℃ 沸水、冰水和气泡水 全能水龙头 安装时间可能因厨房布局而异。 --- 外卖。外卖。外卖。外卖。 # 赚到钱了。

CHASE 即刻下载应用程序 18+ 英国居民。适用资格限制。需持有Chase当前账户和储蓄账户。在杂货、餐厅、咖啡馆、外卖、日常交通、燃料和公共电动汽车充电桩的借记卡 / 信用卡消费上可获得 2% 返现。每月最高 £20。每月使用借记卡或信用卡和 / 或直接借记（Direct Debits）进行 15 次以上支付，并在您的储蓄账户中保持 £1,800 以上余额（不包括舍入账户）。常设指令、退款、银行转账和其他交易不计入 15 次支付。您仅在符合条件的卡片消费中获得返现，而在直接借记支付或银行转账中无法获得。信息截至 2026年7月3日 为准。适用例外情况及条款与条件：chase.co.uk / cashback。Chase是J.P. Morgan Europe Limited的贸易名称。25 Bank Street, London E14 5JP. --- # 观察者报体育 # 凯旋门 法国女子环法自行车赛的迅速崛起 观察者报 09.08.26

--- 2 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 # 本周 报道：George Simms ## 本周简讯

前狼队门将 Parkes 逝世，享年 79 岁

传奇的伍尔弗汉普顿流浪者（Wolverhampton Wanderers）门将 Phil Parkes 逝世，享年 79. 岁。Parkes 在学生时代加入狼队，于 1960 年至 1978 年间效力该队，共出场 382 次，并帮助球队闯入 1972 年欧联杯决赛（当时负于托特纳姆热刺）。随后，他在北美效力了八年，先后加盟温哥华白帽、芝加哥 Sting、圣何塞地震、俄克拉荷马城 Slickers 和多伦多暴风雪队，直到 1983. 年退役。他于 2023 年入选狼队名人堂。俱乐部在声明中表示：“在这个悲痛时刻，我们的思念与祈祷与‘Lofty’的亲人同在。”

Sullivan 无视建议，现身锤子军团胜利现场

西汉姆联老板 David Sullivan 无视了远离伦敦体育场的建议，在现场观看了“锤子军团”在联赛杯（Carabao Cup）首轮 3-1 击败朴茨茅斯的比赛。Sullivan 在 6 月辞去了联席主席一职，此前有七名女性指控他存在性剥削和掠夺行为，他对此予以强烈否认，但他仍持有俱乐部 38.8% 的股份。伦敦体育场的一位发言人建议这位 77 岁的前色情业大亨不要参加比赛，因为担心引发球迷骚乱。在其他赛事中，莱斯特城在 Russell Martin 执教的首场正式比赛中 1-0 击败北安普顿镇，而伯恩利则通过点球大战险胜诺丁汉郡，伯明翰击败了斯旺西。

143

Jack Draper 在退出蒙特利尔大师赛后的世界排名

阿森纳签下 Guimarães，萨拉转投土耳其

据报道，在巴西球员推动离开东北部后，阿森纳以 7500 万英镑 从纽卡斯尔签下了 Bruno Guimarães。Guimarães, 28, 签署了一份为期四年的合同。他的离队意味着纽卡斯尔在最近几周内失去了主教练以及三名首发中场中的两名，Joelinton 同样与离队传闻挂钩。在其他方面，离开利物浦后，Mohamed Salah 以每年 1450 万英镑 的薪水加盟特拉布宗体育，合同至 2028 年；在面对美国和沙特阿拉伯的兴趣时，他选择留在欧洲。曼城拒绝了巴塞罗那对 Rodri 3850 万英镑 的报价，这位 30 岁的球员正趋于离开英超。与此同时，利物浦接近租借签下巴塞罗那的乌拉圭中后卫 Ronald Araújo，而曼城已达成协议签下马赛门将 Geronimo Rulli，以替代离队的 James Trafford（后者以 4500 万英镑 加盟利兹联）。在女子超级联赛中，曼城的巴西边锋 Kerolin 以约 130 万英镑 的联赛纪录转会费加盟巴塞罗那。此外，后卫 Gabby George 从曼联加盟布莱顿，水晶宫则从托特纳姆签下了 Molly Bartrip。

随耳听

“这只是一个重新恢复冰壶竞技状态的问题。”退役的冬奥冰壶金牌得主 Eve Muirhead 宣布在远离冰场四年后回归。

Gay 可能缺席英巴测试赛

在 Emilio Gay 为达勒姆队击球时因伤退赛后，英格兰在面对巴基斯坦的三场测试赛系列赛前陷入了顶层打击线危机。由于 Jacob Bethell 已因膝伤缺席巴基斯坦系列赛，Gay 在一场对阵米德尔塞克斯的单日杯比赛中肩部受伤，导致英格兰缺乏选择。Jordan Cox 预计将接替 Bethell 出任 3, 号位，但目前阵容中没有专业的开局击球手。Dan Lawrence 预计将在 6, 号位击球，但他此前曾为英格兰担任开局击球手，尽管他在 6 场比赛中表现挣扎。与此同时，前英格兰全能球员 Andrew Flintoff 已辞去英格兰狮队主教练一职，以优先处理他在 Big Bash 联赛悉尼雷电队的职责。

因凡蒂诺否认出轨封口费指控

根据《每日电讯报》的一项调查，在现任国际足联（Fifa）主席吉安尼·因凡蒂诺（Gianni Infantino）于 2009 年至 2016 年间担任欧足联（Uefa）秘书长期间，欧足联向一名据称是其情人的女性支付了封口费。据称，该女性收到了一笔六位数的款项，且欧足联还支付了她完成 MBA 学位的费用。国际足联的一位发言人表示：“国际足联主席吉安尼·因凡蒂诺强烈否认这些指控，这些指控完全不属实。”因凡蒂诺自 2001 年起结婚，据称他在担任该女性上司期间还对其进行了晋升，但当时欧足联主席米歇尔·普拉蒂尼（Michel Platini）告知这位瑞士官僚两人中必须有一个离开时，他被迫离职。

目录

亚历克西亚·普特耶利亚斯（Alexia Putellas）：“‘英格兰女足’正是我所寻找的” 第 6 页 从黑客到赛道：我在田径运动中的新冒险 第 8 页 结识科林·斯派维（Colin Spivey），英国最快的九旬老人 第 9 页 巡回赛让运动焕发活力，让障碍赛马变得性感 第 12 页

封面

阿联酋 ADQ 车队的 Maevu Sajiban 在环法女子自行车赛第四赛段个人计时赛期间 Tim de Waele / Getty

随笔与评论

作者：安德鲁·巴特勒（Andrew Butler）

慕尼黑的又一天

看看他现在的样子——传奇音乐人菲尔·科林斯（Phil Collins）之子马修·科林斯（Mathew Collins）已签约前德甲冠军 1860 慕尼黑队。这位 21 岁的中场球员与该俱乐部签署了一份为期一年的合同，该俱乐部目前在第四级别联赛 Regionalliga 比赛。给 1860 慕尼黑球迷的一个建议——千万别让他偷走你的心。

即将纹身

在世界杯期间，我们报道了肖恩·卡林顿（Sean Carrington），这位英格兰球迷在小腿上纹了世界杯奖杯以及“英格兰 2026 年世界杯冠军”字样。我们当时说，如果英格兰没有获胜，他会加上“开玩笑的”，而卡林顿履行了他的承诺。“这并不困扰我。这只是个纹身，”他说。

一堆废话

前巴西前锋亚历山德罗·帕托（Alexandre Pato）是一个财团的成员，据报道该财团正在洽谈购买英甲第二级别联赛（League Two）诺森普顿镇队（Northampton Town）的多数股权。这位 36 岁的球员在 17 年的职业生涯中曾效力于 AC 米兰和切尔西，他参与了 Sports Alpha Capital，该公司在今年 2 月退出之前曾洽谈购买科尔切斯特联队（Colchester United）。

这样就足够了

阿根廷队不满足于赢得比赛并晋级世界杯决赛，他们宣布 7 月 15 日——他们在半决赛击败英格兰的那一天——将成为“国家足球队日”。该国足球协会表示，选择这个日期是为了“纪念这次伟大且具有历史意义的胜利”。

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44 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 3 保罗·海沃德（Paul Hayward）

如果不能找到现代化之路，英国赛马可能会步美国的后尘

美国赛马的衰落可能为英国赛马场提供一个警示。其他精英体育项目已经变成了面向粉丝、由故事驱动的盛会。为了生存，赛马必须效仿。

世世代代以来，赛马场是美国人去挑战人生中那些渺茫胜算的地方。他们在那些感觉像是微缩版“美国方式”的赛道上追求胜利。赛马场是男人们（绝大多数）的聚集地，他们在充满雪茄和俏皮话的社交俱乐部中，共享着轻松获利的梦想。按照目前的发展趋势，在美国很快就很难找到一个赛马日，它将被局限在纽约州、肯塔基州和加利福尼亚州日益消失的核心地带。即使是加州阿卡迪亚镇的圣安妮塔（Santa Anita）和佛罗里达州的湾流公园（Gulfstream Park）这些棕榈树天堂，也无法确保自己的未来。

随着对双腿而非四腿运动员的体育博彩成为常态，美国赛马在今年夏天为被称为“纽约市赛马场”的阿奎达克（Aqueduct）举行了最后的告别仪式，该赛马场在运营 132 年后关闭。在我访问过的许多美国赛马场中，总有一种破旧且绝望的潜流，但当一匹伟大的马（最好是白手起家型）成为国家级人物时，也会迸发出光彩。作家们将 Man o'War、Secretariat、Kelso 或 Seattle Slew 变成了报道赛马作为美国生活表达方式的载体。

当英国赛马聚集在夏季的极乐盛事时，美国的问题感觉像在另一个世界：皇家雅士谷（Royal Ascot）、古德伍德节（Goodwood festival）和约克的埃博会议（Ebor meeting，8月19-22日）。每一项赛事都受益于英国人的一种痴迷——参加那些仅仅因为持有入场券就能获得吹嘘资本（以及极大快感）的活动。这些大型平地赛会坚守着其魅力，散发出一种花园派对与高端体育户外博彩相结合的氛围。古德伍德开业于 1801 年，而约克的赛马活动自 1731 年起就在 Knavesmire 举行。英国目前仍有 59 个赛马场在运营。

有时你会 高端博彩：赛马在古德伍德等许多大型平地赛会中坚守其魅力，但它需要寻找其他收入来源。Alan Coshurst / Getty 坚守着其魅力，这些大型平地赛会散发出一种花园派对与户外高端体育博彩相结合的氛围，人们不禁在想，英国赛马何时才会停止其内部的权力斗争，转而面对最紧迫的任务：如何像其他现代体育项目那样，将自己组织成一个更新的、面向粉丝且由故事驱动的盛会。

任何浏览赛马政治头条的人可能都会认为，最好在一切步阿奎达克后尘之前赶紧进场。据《纽约客》报道，自 2000 年以来，美国已有 40 多个赛马场关闭；在 2025 年体育总博彩额 1670 亿美元（1670亿美元）中，赛马博彩仅占 110 亿美元（110亿美元，约合 80 亿英镑 80亿英镑）。那里的马匹死亡率也高得令人无法接受。

我们的赛马并没有陷入那种程度的恶性循环，但两年前的一系列统计数据让分析师们对“受控衰退”感到担忧。这些数据包括：观众人数下降（去年有所回升）；参赛马匹数量下降，这标志着对该行业信心的下降；以及博彩营业额下降（自 2023 年以来下降 10.7%）。由博彩委员会强制执行的博彩“可负担性检查”现在威胁要从赛马业已经暴跌的博彩收入中削减数百万美元，因为这可能会将赌徒推向黑市。因此，业界在争夺媒体版权和其他商业来源的资金。

“骑师俱乐部退出赛马场协会，赛马界迎来重磅炸弹”这一标题对于行业之外的人来说可能并不像新闻（雅士谷此前已经退出）。但在这些裂痕中——以及约克和古德伍德在 6 月发出的一封称已达到“拐点”的联名信中——人们可以看到向赛马“高端化”迈出的第一次协同行动——这标志着高端市场的脱离之始。

“一项每年为英国经济创造超过 40亿英镑 收益的运动，竟然无法就如何治理自身达成一致，”约克和古德伍德感叹道。他们认为，其中一个解决方案是将这项运动分为“精英级”和“基础级”。你可能会认为这种情况已经发生了。在当前的锦标赛中，奖金最高的前五名马主全部是来自阿联酋、卡塔尔和沙特阿拉伯的中东权贵。紧随其后的是来自爱尔兰的 Coolmore 团队；障碍赛现在同样由少数精英主导。虽然有关于将“外部投资者”作为单一商业实体的讨论，但就目前情况而言，其竞争结构过于混乱，难以进行投资。如果奖杯全部落入超级马主之手，赛马运动依然保护着其民主特质。卡特梅尔、班戈-昂-托、赫克瑟姆、庞特弗拉克特和大雅茅与约克、古德伍德和雅士谷处于同一套育种和竞赛体系之中。这种广度和基层深度是赛马运动的优势，但也是其脆弱之处。逻辑上，它应该更专注于头号明星，但放弃小型赛道则面临毁掉英国赛马本质的风险。这本该很简单：育种者育种，训练师训练，骑师骑乘，马匹奔跑。但赛马过于依赖一个外部的、平行的博彩产业。由于缺乏稳定的治理结构，它在安排替代性收入形式方面搞得一团糟。风险在于，它可能在摆姿态中走向无关紧要。然而，去年有 500 万人观看了赛马，因此基础依然稳固。如果愿意了解其他运动在结构和呈现方式上是如何演变的，赛马运动或许还能停止成为一个由敌对利益组成的群岛。如果它需要一个警示故事来启发思考，美国可以提供参考。 --- 4 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 卓越表现：如果柔佛达鲁尔塔津队在马来西亚超级联赛中的不败纪录延长至 109 场，他们可能会打破世界纪录。Abdullah Ahmed / Getty

王储如何改造柔佛的友谊对手：柔佛达鲁塔짐

柔佛达鲁塔짐（Johor Darul Ta'zim）的演变为其带来了英超访客——以及创造历史的机会

Sam Cunningham 报道于柔佛

2013年，在马来西亚南部柔佛的一场曲棍球比赛中，球迷们恳请图库·伊斯梅尔·伊本·苏丹·易卜拉欣殿下（His Royal Highness Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim）拯救该州的足球运动。当时，柔佛达鲁塔짐（通常被称为 JDT）在数十年间几乎没有进步。对此产生兴趣的王储买下了这家足球俱乐部，并在接下来的13年里，主导了世界足球史上最令人瞩目的转型之一。

本月晚些时候，当 JDT 在对阵古晋的比赛中重启马来西亚超级联赛赛季时，他们不仅将捍卫连续第13个赛季的冠军头衔，还将追求历史纪录。他们始于2021, 4月的联赛不败纪录可能会延长至109场——从而超越由科特迪瓦球队 Asec Mimosas 在1990年代初创下的世界纪录。

这一成就为 JDT 赢得了认可，该俱乐部今天迎来了切尔西队进行一场季前友谊赛。

“世界纪录并不是目标，”王储说道，“它是一个副产品。当你以正确的方式建设——我们的学院、我们的训练设施、我们的医学科学、我们的获胜文化——纪录自然会随之而来。我们不追求纪录。我们追求标准，而当你的标准足够高且维持足够长的时间，纪录就是随之而来的结果。”

阿里斯泰尔·爱德华兹（Alistair Edwards）曾是一名精干的前锋，曾帮助 JDT 在1991, 赢得马来西亚联赛和杯赛的双冠王，现在他是俱乐部的首席运营官。当王储寻找合适的人选来使俱乐部专业化时，爱德华兹的名字被提及，他记得自己八岁时在训练课上观察过这位澳大利亚人。

爱德华兹表示，在他球员时代，“体育场有点陈旧且破败”，“我们在开阔地训练，训练完后得自带毛巾并用软管冲洗身体。就设施而言，现在和过去简直是天差地别。”。他就是从零开始的。

如今，JDT 的训练设施拥有反重力跑步机和氧疗舱。一座将于明年开放的新训练中心，“世界纪录并不是目标。它是一个副产品。当你以正确的方式建设，纪录自然会随之而来” —— 苏丹·易卜拉欣殿下，将拥有七块球场和一个形状像俱乐部老虎徽章的室内球场建筑。全新的 4万,000 座苏丹·易卜拉欣体育场于2020. 启用。

王储以欧洲足球为蓝本打造 JDT，并加入了西班牙元素。曾在利物浦赢得过欧冠冠军的路易斯·加西亚（Luis Garcia）担任首席执行官。前沃特福德主教练希斯科·穆诺斯（Xisco Muñoz）担任主教练。学院总监哈维尔·里贝拉（Javier Ribera）九年前从瓦伦西亚来到这里。

“我们试图引入瓦伦西亚学院的方法论和哲学，”里贝拉说。

加西亚在担任电视评论员期间完成了教练资格认证，但在获得工商管理硕士（MBA）学位后，他发现自己热爱足球的商业运作。他与从事管理工作的前队友（包括今天的对手主教练哈维尔·阿隆索）探讨了教练工作的收获，并决定这不适合自己。加西亚在与王储会面后于18个月前加入。

“你来到这里，不知道会期待什么，”加西亚说，“我对马来西亚了解不多。当我到达时，我发现—— 欧洲模式：王储请来了西班牙教练希斯科·穆诺斯（左），他将监督柔佛达鲁塔짐在苏丹·易卜拉欣体育场（下图）与切尔西的友谊赛。Adrek Kumar / Getty —— 某人渴望在柔佛留下遗产。”

去年夏天加入的希斯科也被这个项目所吸引。“这里的设施与我在英超联赛时一样，”他说。

王储是一个神秘的人物。他的Instagram上充满了私人飞机、军事演习和超级跑车的视频。在JDT，他决定一切；处处可见他的印记。在进入体育场的路上，沿着棕榈树林立的道路，对方教练在经过桥梁时，会看到上面挂着写着“你正在进入南方之虎的主场”的横幅。主队入口的标志是金色的；客队球员到达时则是银色的。通过客队入口门，一面墙上写着一条信息“我们无所畏惧”，随后你会被引导经过俱乐部最近获得的一座奖杯。在客队热身室里，一个巨大的标志写着：“给你们这些小伙子：你们进错球队了，男孩们。”

Xisco说：“这是我第一次与王储共事。他总是在思考我们如何改进。无论你是2-0或5-0.获胜都无关紧要。无论你是否进入了冠军联赛的四分之一决赛都无关紧要。他在思考下个赛季可以做些什么来向前迈进一步。”“他从不说停止。他一直在前进。他说你需要付出100%的努力，否则你会感到焦虑，无法留在这里。”

他说，王储愿景的下一个阶段是将JDT打造成为亚洲冠军联赛的一股力量，并建立起某种能够“让一家来自柔佛的俱乐部与足坛最顶尖的名字肩并肩”的东西。“但这从来不仅仅是为了奖杯。当你正确地建立一家俱乐部时，你建立的是留在该地区的职业生涯、基础设施和自豪感——而每当这家俱乐部与顶尖球队竞争时，它都在告诉这里的下一代，雄心是没有上限的。这对我来说才是最重要的遗产。”

观看指南

柔佛达鲁尔塔津 vs 切尔西

Chelsea FC+ 今日，下午1点

斯金纳与豪的命运揭示了主教练的困境

Jessy Parker Humphreys

这是许多曼联球迷等待已久的一刻。周一，俱乐部宣布长期担任主教练的马克·斯金纳（Marc Skinner）在任职五年后离职，而女足超级联赛（WSL）新赛季的开赛仅剩一个多月。曼联在声明中称这是对斯金纳合同的“协商终止”，该合同原还剩一年期限。据各方说法，是斯金纳本人提出了辞职。

在曼联任职期间，斯金纳一直是一个充满争议的人物。在接替因俱乐部缺乏支持而辞职的受欢迎人物凯西·斯通（Casey Stoney）后，他面临着一场艰苦的战斗。他偶尔表现出的傲慢倾向对他自己并无益处，且他的球队在战术上缺乏灵感。

与此同时，他离职时也是曼联历史上最成功的女足主教练。在斯金纳的带领下，球队赢得了首座重大奖杯，在2024.年于温布利球场捧起了足总杯。在他任职的五年中，球队有四年进入了国内杯赛决赛，而其中三次遇到切尔西可能是不幸的。

上赛季，他们闯入了欧冠四分之一决赛。在输给拜仁慕尼黑后，斯金纳发表了一番不符合其一贯风格的言论。在面对曼联高层时，他通常是个唯唯诺诺的人，但这次他明确表示，他所能支配的资源不足以确保球队达到预期的成绩。

“因为我们佩戴着曼联的徽章，每个人都期望我们成为世界上最强的球队。我们也有这样的期望，”他说，“但如果我们想在更高阶段竞争，我们已经看到了俱乐部必须做些什么。现在，选择权在我们要怎么做，不是吗？”

斯金纳阐述了困扰曼联女足的“预期与现实”之矛盾。人们假设他们能与切尔西、阿森纳和曼城等球队竞争，而这些球队的工资单规模是他们的两倍。《The Athletic》报道称，他们今年夏天的预算仅处于联赛中游水平。然而，曼联首席执行官奥马尔·贝拉达（Omar Berrada）仍然坚持认为他们可以在2028.年前赢得联赛冠军。在看不到明显改变的情况下，斯金纳得出结论，他不再想成为那个背锅的人。

与此同时，埃迪·豪（Eddie Howe）在纽卡斯尔联遇到了类似的问题。他于7月底离开俱乐部，和斯金纳一样是在任职五年之后。在职时间的长短是这两位主教练众多相似之处之一。

豪曾带领纽卡斯尔重返欧冠，并赢得了70年来的首座重大奖杯——在2025.年捧起了联赛杯（Carabao Cup）。对他而言，所面临的预期与其说是关于品牌，不如说是关于老板们的深厚财力。

当沙特阿拉伯公共投资基金在2021,年收购纽卡斯尔时，所有人都认为资金的流动会像产生这些资金的石油一样汹涌。事实证明并非如此。在去年夏天转会截止日亚历山大·伊萨克（Alexander Isak）被卖给利物浦后，安东尼·戈登（Anthony Gordon）和桑德罗·托纳利（Sandro Tonali）成为了今年高调离队的两人，而现在队长布鲁诺·吉马良斯（Bruno Guimarães）已签约加盟阿森纳。

俱乐部正转向购买年轻潜力球员。在单一赛季中，只有切尔西和布莱顿在21岁以下球员身上的投入超过了纽卡斯尔今年夏天的数额。据报道，由于认为目前WSL内部的支出不可持续，转向培养青训学院的年轻球员也将成为曼联的重点。他们将上赛季球队最高进球贡献者（10个进球和9次助攻）梅尔文·马拉德（Melvine Malard）以£85万,000.的价格卖给了切尔西。

足球俱乐部日益拥有自己的财务意识形态。这些意识形态由管理层基于“市场机会”、“摊销”（将转会费分摊到一段设定的时间内）以及通常通过出售青训苗子产生的“纯利润”来制定。主教练——以及他们对成功所需资源的评估——被淡化了。然而，如果这种经济理论最终演变成的是信贷危机而非咆哮的20年代，那么面临名誉受损的将是主教练。因此，斯金纳（Skinner）和豪（Howe）都不愿继续尝试弥合预期差距，这并不令人惊讶。

在埃娃·奥利德（Eva Olid）上赛季带领哈茨队（Hearts）赢得苏格兰女子超级联赛冠军后，曼彻斯特联队于周三任命她为教练。由于她曾以远低于凯尔特人、流浪者和格拉斯哥城等队的预算取得了成功，很容易理解为什么她对曼联具有吸引力。同样，对于一个自2021年加入球队时该队甚至尚未完全职业化、且唯一的一份高级管理工作经验就在该队的人来说，曼联代表了一个明显的晋升。

奥利德告诉加泰罗尼亚报纸《Ara》，她离开哈茨队是因为她对球队在首次获得欧冠资格后缺乏进一步推进的雄心感到失望。“如果我的项目能继续，我想继续留下来，”她说，“要在欧洲赛场竞争，你需要投入更多一点，但俱乐部对此并不开放。”这种感受，她的前任应该会感到熟悉。

observer.co.uk 09.08.26 5 --- 6 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

亚历克西亚·普特耶拉斯：“雌狮队与众不同——但这正是我所寻找的”

WSL的颠覆者们在这个夏天至今已完成了八次签约，旨在效仿“银河战舰”计划。

杰西·帕克·汉弗莱斯（Jessy Parker Humphreys）

YouTube直播画面开启，显示前阿森纳球员詹·比蒂（Jen Beattie）正站在纽约的舞台上。她身后的品牌标识写着“Kynisca”——这是一个涵盖了法国、英国和美国球队的多俱乐部所有权集团。在简短的开场白之后，亚历克西亚·普特耶拉斯（Alexia Putellas）与亿万富翁米歇尔·康（Michele Kang）一同走上台，宣布自己成为伦敦城市雌狮队（London City Lionesses）的一员。

这是今年夏天最令人震惊的转会，尽管发布会的画面看起来像是用诺基亚手机拍摄的。当这位两届金球奖得主宣布离开她的童年俱乐部巴塞罗那时，世界上没有任何一支球队会拒绝她，即便她已经32岁。

她的决定很快就变得清晰。当伦敦城市雌狮队最初成立时，普特耶拉斯正开始首次担任巴塞罗那队的队长。七年后，她穿上了这支新兴球队的球衣。

选择在大西洋的另一端宣布这一消息，并不能消除人们的怀疑，即康及其俱乐部更感兴趣的是康的全球品牌，而非建立一个拥有根植于社区的球迷基础的真实实体。伦敦城市雌狮队高度关注女足中的“一日游”群体，即那些每赛季可能只去看一两次比赛，而非每周坚持观看的人。他们在考虑签约时，也会将商业吸引力纳入考量。

正如联赛本身所意识到的那样，普特耶拉斯恰好能同时满足这两个条件。她在布罗姆利海耶斯巷（Hayes Lane）的首次亮相将开启联赛赛季，伦敦城市雌狮队将于9月5日对阵曼联。

她是伦敦城市雌狮队今年夏天签下的八名球员之一。他们通过与姐妹俱乐部里昂队之间据信十分艰难的谈判，以超过£50万,000的价格签下了前锋卡迪迪亚图·迪亚尼（Kadidiatou Diani）。

在肯特郡的一家乡村俱乐部参加媒体日，感觉就像是在参加过去十年女足界的名人录。马皮·莱昂（Mapi León）对着丹妮尔·范德东克（Daniëlle van de Donk）吐舌头，而玛丽·厄普斯（Mary Earps）则大步走过走廊。

普特耶拉斯比她在球场上表现出的样子更有趣，她声称凯拉·沃尔什（Keira Walsh）和露西·布朗兹（Lucy Bronze）告诉她，当她们在联赛中相遇时，她们要“踢”她，随后她迅速澄清自己“只是在开玩笑”。

“这里很不同，但这正是我所寻找的，”普特耶拉斯在谈到她加入的俱乐部时说道，而不是指她抵达英国后尝试的英式早餐。“我带着开放的心态而来，因此我已经准备好迎接这段旅程中的任何挑战。”

“我并不追求巴塞罗那所拥有的那些。这是一场不同的比赛，我将尝试为我的球队贡献我最好的特质。”

“第一次对话是关于俱乐部的需求以及这个项目的雄心。我想成为这段旅程的一部分，带来我所拥有的经验，并作为一名球员去学习，让自己变得更全面。我做出这个决定就是为了这个，为了处于一个我从未经历过的位置，而且在我看来，这个联赛能给我带来这一点。”

康的项目最明显的参考点是弗洛伦蒂诺·佩雷斯（Florentino Pérez）在首次担任皇家马德里主席期间采取的“银河战舰”策略。

“它将成为俱乐部的象征，”他在2000年说道，当时他在几个夏天里陆续招募了路易斯·菲戈（Luis Figo）、齐内丁·齐达内（Zinedine Zidane）、罗纳尔多（Ronaldo）和大卫·贝克汉姆（David Beckham）。

康的策略确实面临着重蹈马德里某些弱点的风险，某些位置显得过度投入，而其他位置则被忽视。如果她不想违反女子超级联赛（WSL）的新财务规则，她需要商业收入，而且要快。在 2024-25 赛季，他们在收入仅为 £90.2万,000 的情况下，亏损超过了 1000 万英镑。新规则规定，一支球队的工资单不能超过其收入的 80% 加上 400 万英镑，或者收入的另外 25%，以较高者为准。据称普特利亚斯的年薪为 100 万英镑，因此似乎没有太多的回旋余地。尼科尔·安约米（Nicole Anyomi）是另一名新招募的球员，这位 26 岁的德国前锋来自法兰克福足球俱乐部。与普特利亚斯不同，她尚未见过康——尽管她在加盟前与主教练埃德尔·马埃斯特雷（Eder Maestre）进行了交流，而普特利亚斯则没有。新招募球员：尼科尔·安约米是布罗姆利（Bromley）的另一张新面孔，这位 26 岁的德国前锋来自法兰克福足球俱乐部。Adam Pretty / Getty 大陆架：雌狮队本赛季缺乏欧洲赛事的机会，据称这是这位两届金球奖得主决定加盟的一个因素。Madeleine Pothold / 伦敦城市雌狮队（London City Lionesses）“在这里我受到了非常热烈的欢迎，”安约米说。“人们非常乐于助人，球员们也是如此。我选择雌狮队是因为这个项目。她们是一家独立俱乐部，我想成为其中的一员，共同成就一些特别的事情。”康的使命确实让球员们产生了真正的兴奋，遗憾的是，她们早已习惯于作为男子球队一部分所面临的障碍——资金不足且被忽视。有时，这种崇拜几乎像是一种狂热。安约米表示，她来到这家俱乐部的部分原因是“为了回报一些东西，因为她所做的事情真的很特别”。然而，曼城、切尔西和阿森纳这些 WSL 的巨头所拥有的资源，远超全球足球中几乎任何其他女子球队。如果伦敦城市雌狮队想要实现康进入欧冠联赛的目标，就必须超越这些球队。欧足联（Uefa）已经明确表示，如果伦敦城市雌狮队和里昂同时获得参赛资格，将不会有任何“女强人”豁免权。谁知道普特利亚斯是否会申请豁免，以避免在比赛中面对巴塞罗那——雌狮队本赛季缺乏欧洲赛事的机会，据称是她决定加盟的一个因素。目前看来确定的是，这种支出在短期内不会停止。--- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 7

爱之深责之切，这就是我们目前的英格兰测试赛阵容

替换本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）是一项不可能完成的任务，加上其他资深球员的短缺，这意味着选拔委员会只能在“固定菜单”中做选择，作者：卡梅隆·庞森比（Cameron Ponsonby）

A 个简单的菜单可能是餐厅优秀的标志，但对于一支板球队伍来说则不然。英格兰对阵巴基斯坦的三场测试赛系列赛将在不到两周后开始。乔·鲁特（Joe Root）重新接任队长，马库斯·特雷斯科布里克（Marcus Trescoblick）担任临时主教练，而正式的新任主教练斯蒂芬·弗莱明（Stephen Fleming）在 9 月正式接手之前，正与家人在新西兰共度时光。因此，在距离比赛还有 10 天的时候，前两场比赛的阵容公布，引发了全国英格兰球迷集体地耸肩和翻白眼。没有像北安普顿郡全能球员卡尔文·哈里森（Calvin Harrison）那样出人意料的选择，也没有让雷汉·艾哈迈德（Rehan Ahmed）晋升至一线队。但丹·劳伦斯（Dan Lawrence）在离开阵容两年后回归了。奥利·波普（Ollie Pope）在离开阵容八个月后回归了。而乔丹·考克斯（Jordan Cox）则获得了提升，在受伤的雅各布·贝塞尔（Jacob Bethell）缺阵的情况下，这位仅有一场测试赛经验的球员将出任 3 号击球手。很抱歉，各位。但这就是我们目前所拥有的。爱之深责之切（Take it or leave it）。

因为事实上，这支阵容已经尽可能地令人兴奋了。替换本·斯托克斯是一项不可能完成的任务，除了首席选拔官马库斯·诺斯（Marcus North）大加赞赏的萨姆·库兰（Sam Curran）——库兰很可能在被认为达到测试赛体能要求时参加第三场测试赛——英格兰唯一的选择就是通过劳伦斯这位兼职旋转球手来重新平衡球队，然后选择四名快速投球手。

因此，英格兰在可预见的未来面临的选择是：在 No 7. 位选择库兰或任何其他缝线球全能球员。那么你的 8 到 11 位可以由另外三名缝线投球手和一名像肖艾布·巴希尔（Shoaib Bashir）这样的专业旋转球手组成。或者，如果环境不利于旋转球，你就选择更强的击球手，在这种情况下

这就是 2026 年英格兰板球的认知重塑：降低预期，增加享受

旋转周期：丹·劳伦斯（上）在离开英格兰阵容两年后回归，奥利·波普（左）在离开八个月后回归。 Andy Kearn & Durian Traynor / Getty

劳伦斯在 6 号位击球，投几个球，然后你的 8 到 11 位将由四名快速投球手组成。斯托克斯在场外可能引起过动荡，但在场上，他提供了平衡，并且这种状态维持了十多年。

35, 岁的鲁特是队中年龄最大的球员，也是一位被一群仍在学习该运动的球员所环绕的伟大球员。在英格兰的前六名击球手中，除了埃米利奥·盖伊（Emilio Gay）——他自己在为达勒姆队比赛时因伤退场，目前仍有伤在身——考克斯和劳伦斯都没有在测试赛中获得过百分记录。虽然巴基斯坦队较弱，但他们老练的缝线攻击面对英格兰缺乏经验的击球线，将使两队实力趋于接近。

此外，在这三场比赛之后，未来 18 个月将迎来极具吸引力的测试赛。这段时间包括客场挑战南非（保护色队是热门）；客场挑战在主场表现出色的孟加拉国；然后是主场举办的灰烬杯（Ashes）以及客场挑战印度。这段时期涵盖了 20 场测试赛。作为队长，鲁特在过去的 18. 场比赛中仅获一场胜利。情况不会变得更容易。

英格兰球迷需要转变心态。当英格兰表现得像是自封的测试赛救世主时，他们在国际上——有时在国内——是不受欢迎的。“巴兹球”（Bazball）时代已经结束，取而代之的是一支处于新旅程起点的缺乏经验的球队。成功将是艰苦赢得的，而且如果成功到来，理应受到庆祝。沿途的失败是在预料之中的。当你期望一支球队一直赢球，而它偶尔赢球时，支持它很糟糕。但当你期望一支球队会输球，而它偶尔赢球时，支持它则是极好的。这就是 2026 年英格兰板球的认知重塑：降低预期，增加享受。

结构性问题依然存在，The Hundred 赛事的决赛在首场测试赛（Test）开球前仅三天举行。因此，英格兰队公布了一份 16 人的阵容，其中包括三名额外的快速投球手——布赖登·卡斯（Brydon Carse）、马特·费舍尔（Matt Fisher）和萨姆·库克（Sam Cook）。预计他们都不会上场，但如果参与 The Hundred 赛事的正选投球手（如乔弗拉·阿彻（Jofra Archer）、古斯·阿特金森（Gus Atkinson）或乔什·汤格（Josh Tongue））进入决赛且被认为需要额外休息，则可能需要他们出战。今年夏天早些时候，阿彻因参加印度超级联赛（IPL）而缺席对阵新西兰的首场测试赛，此举遭到了严厉批评。但我们自己也为这个问题埋下了伏笔。尽管弗莱明（Fleming）并非正式担任主教练，但他参与了阵容的选拔过程。而波普（Pope）作为前六位打手的备份以及门将回归，加上对郡冠军赛（County Championship）杰出投球手库克的召回——他去年参加了一场对阵津巴布韦的测试赛，本赛季为埃塞克斯队（Essex）在六场比赛中拿下了 27 个三柱门——对于全国的板球运动员来说将是一个令人欣慰的景象：一个新时代带来了新的机遇。即便像劳伦斯（Lawrence）这样的人被选中——他今年在萨里队（Surrey）的投球表现并未收获大量三柱门——也是基于他在赛季初拿下了五个百分（centuries），并且是其所属郡队中表现最好的打手。与此同时，因参加 IPL 而缺席冠军赛早期的考克斯（Cox），在今年唯一一次为埃塞克斯队出场时就打出了双百分（double century）。当篇章翻新，决定便不言而喻。从纸面上看，这并非一支史上最强的英格兰队。但这就是我们目前拥有的队伍。而有时，这样的队伍反而是最好的。

观看指南 英格兰 vs 巴基斯坦 Sky Sports Cricket 19-23 August

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8 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

从评论员到教练：新教练报告

Rob Draper 通常撰写体育报道。在这里，他反思了处于围栏另一侧的真实感受。

年轻才俊：Max McKinstry（左）和 Ewan Sparey 在布里斯托和西 AC（Bristol and West AC）进行训练，Rob Draper 目前在此担任教练。摄影：Gareth Iwan Jones

在正式成为一名英国田径协会（UK Athletics）认证教练，并指导一组极具天赋的 18 岁以下运动员一年后，我不禁想到了伟大的阿森纳球探 Francis Cagigao，他现在是莫斯科斯巴达队的体育总监，并且是以 16. 岁招募 Cesc Fabregas 而闻名的人。

在反思由青年招募主管 Steve Morrow 监督的阿森纳发展团队如何培养 Bukayo Saka 时，Cagigao 评论道：“当这样一个天才出现时，你唯一想对人们说的是：‘千万别给搞砸了！’ Bukayo 拥有天然的能力和极佳的个性。”

这并不是要削弱 Morrow 这位优秀教练的作用，或者削弱教练工作整体的重要性。这个角色是微妙的、专业的，而且比我想象的要复杂得多。但有时，天赋就那样出现在你的路径上，而你能做的最好的事情就是不要毁掉它。

作为一名体育记者，我一生都在场边批评教练——正如作家 Murray Kempton 所说，“评论员就是那些在战争结束后进入战场并向伤员开枪的人”——而现在，真正地为布里斯托和西 AC 那些天才年轻运动员的体育成绩负责，对我来说有点像是在切换档位。

当事情出错时，原因有很多。但外界人士和体育记者真的想听你的诉苦故事吗？无论我们如何坚持认为青少年发展是一个长期的旅程，并不总是与眼前的成功相关，但人们总会有根据赢得的奖牌来评判表现的诱惑。

如果你足够幸运能执教某些水准的运动员，你会感觉到，有时这个角色仅仅是不要碍事，让他们的天赋让你看起来很出色。

在过去的一个赛季中，我执教的一名运动员 Ewan Sparey 赢得了享有盛誉的英格兰学校 17 岁以下 800米冠军，以及随后在贝尔法斯特举行的本土国家国际赛事，证明了自己是英国和爱尔兰的最佳选手，随后在英格兰 18 岁以下锦标赛中获得第二名。另一位 Max McKinstry 是西南地区 18 岁以下 800米冠军。许多其他人进入了郡队，刷新了个人最好成绩并实现了个人里程碑。

你为他们所有人感到高兴和自豪。但同样地，对于那些没有实现目标、未能入选球队或难以发挥其毋庸置疑之潜力的运动员，我也负有责任吗？如果你接受鲜花，那么也应该有几块砖头砸向你，即使是在培养精英青少年运动员这个出了名反复无常的世界里，进步也很少是线性的。

当你拥有如此有天赋的运动员时，你在过程中的作用有多大？Peter Coe 是一位真正的教练传奇和先驱，我们所有从事中距离跑步的人都研究他的训练课。然而，他的儿子 Sebastian 拥有使其成为一代 800米天才的遗传天赋，这有助于提升他的知名度。

英国田径协会的教练教育计划非常出色，而且对于像我这样的人来说，工作量出奇地大——我在 20 岁出头时跑到了相当高的水平，因此一直认为自己无所不知。被送回学校学习有一种令人不安的尴尬感，意识到这项运动在 30 年间可能已经发生了变化，而且你可能并非无所不知。

此外，当你坐在车里与 Cooper Lutkenhaus 的父亲 George 一起时，还需要对抗冒充者综合征。Lutkenhaus 是一个像 Coe 一样的美国田径现象，他在 17 岁时跑出了 1分 42.08秒，击败了包括奥运冠军在内的全球所有领先的 800米跑者。

从笔到秒表：Rob Draper 与他在布里斯托合作的一些年轻运动员。摄影：Karen Robinson 为《观察者报》拍摄

在达拉斯与乔治、库珀以及他的哥哥安德鲁共进早餐并聊天——英格兰队在世界杯期间在那里比赛纯属幸运的巧合——是一次极具启发性且令人感到谦卑的经历。之所以感到谦卑，是因为乔治是一位真正的专业人士，拥有运动机能学和运动科学硕士学位，并且担任德克萨斯州整个学区的体育主管，相比之下，我那微薄的资历和经验显得不足。然而，这次经历也极具启发性，因为我们的直觉和背景并不相像。乔治和我大学时的800米成绩完全相同，而现在我们都发现自己在培养比当年我们更有天赋的运动员。我原以为像卢特肯豪斯这样的天才会被过度训练，每周跑 100 英里，并在 19. 岁时就精疲力竭。但事实证明，他的家人及其教练克里斯·卡波（Chris Capeau）的观点与我一致：保持总里程较低，以保护年轻的肢体免受伤害，同时保持田径训练课的高质量和高速度。在体育运动领域科学和营养突破层出不穷的今天，很难不觉得自己像一个被训练和招募数据革命搞得晕头转向的老派足球经理。有时我知道一次训练是正确的，是因为我能“闻”出来，而这并不是一个我能在电子表格中指出的指标。它就是感觉对了。我知道那一周需要什么来填补生理和心理发育的空白，但我没有科学依据来证明这一点。幸运的是，我们与前奥运选手马丁·鲁什（Martin Rush）合作，他是毕业于拉夫堡大学的巴斯大学耐力教练，拥有 25 年经验，并指导过英联邦运动会800米半决赛选手贾斯汀·戴维斯（Justin Davies）。然而，直觉依然至关重要。你观察你的跑者，就像水手观察大海一样。周复一周，无论是在七月热浪烈日的曝晒下，还是在二月的雨夹雪中避雨，你观察他们勤奋地完成训练。你逐渐了解他们的长处和短处。只有在十二月漆黑的夜晚，在倾盆大雨中拿着秒表现身并陪伴在侧，这种共生关系才会发展，而你或许能带来一些实质性的影响。如果没有莫罗（Morrow）以及阿森纳的许多其他青年教练，萨卡（Saka）不会成为今天的这种天才。他无疑仍会是个天才，但不会是这个级别的天才。他们在过程中通过细小的干预增强了他的能力。我认为这就是教练的目标。不是要过于强势、过度控制，并渴望地声称拥有产生独特成功的特殊知识。而是要建立一种真实的关系，通过提供几个恰当的建议，帮助有天赋的运动员进入那条狭窄的成功之路。--- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 9

年龄不是障碍：91. 岁的科林·斯派维（Colin Spivey）准备前往韩国参加他的首届世界大师锦标赛。Gary Colton for The Observer

认识英国最快的九旬老人

Colin Spivey 在 89. 岁时才第一次踏上跑道。本·布鲁姆（Ben Bloom）写道，他现在的目标是在年满 92, 岁之前赢得一项世界冠军。

在哈德斯菲尔德（Huddersfield）一座整洁的两居室平房厨房里，就在各种关节健康补充剂的正对面，挂着英国最快九旬老人的银色战利品。正如那块手工制作的标牌所写，“科尔的收藏”（Col's Collection）包括四枚欧洲田径金牌和四枚英国田径金牌。在接下来的两周内，就在他年满 92, 岁之前，Colin Spivey 希望在前往韩国参加世界大师锦标赛时，为他日益增加的奖牌库增添首个全球冠军头衔。

这是一个艰巨的前景。本周温度计触及 42.5℃，韩国记录到了有史以来最热的一天。对于一个一生都愉快地生活在同一个约克郡小镇的人来说，更令人担忧的是第一次长途旅行以及对陌生韩国食物的恐惧。但 Spivey 依然保持着乐观的务实态度：“在我这个年纪，我明天就可能撒手人寰，所以趁现在还能做，我应该尽可能多地去做。”

与主人相反，厨房里的奖牌收藏还处于起步阶段。令人惊讶的是，Spivey 直到 89 岁之前从未踏上过跑道，直到一位朋友指出他在当地 5, km parkrun 跑赛中的成绩达到了国际水准。

起初，他凭冲动拒绝了参加 2024 年瑞典世界大师锦标赛的邀请。一个直接的障碍是他没有护照。这位前贴砖工唯一一次出国是在 20 世纪 50 年代在皇家炮兵团服役两年的国民服役期间，当时主要在苏伊士危机期间驻扎在埃及。“我的妻子 [Brenda] 不愿意坐船或飞机，所以我从未需要过护照，”他解释道，“我们去过从兰兹角（Land's End）到约翰-奥-格罗茨（John o' Groats）的所有地方，但从未出国。”

在重新考虑后——“我想：‘有什么好损失的？’”——他在首次参赛时以 85-89 组中最年长运动员的身份获得第四名，与 5,000m 奖牌擦肩而过。

次年，在进入 90-94 组后，金牌狂潮开始了。他在欧洲锦标赛的 400m、800m、1,500m 和 5,000m 项目中横扫所有奖项，打破了 1, 项世界纪录和三项英国纪录，并被享有盛誉的《田径周刊》（Athletics Weekly）杂志评为年度最佳大师男运动员。

“太棒了，”他 beaming 地说，“我没想过我能活到 80, 岁，更不用说 90 岁了。”

这与他之前的久坐生活截然不同，那种生活在 Spivey 50 岁出头时曾被短暂打破，当时一名年轻的同事挑战他进行一英里赛跑。

“那时我唯一擅长的事情就是抽烟，”这位拥有三个孩子、五个孙辈和四个曾孙辈的父亲回忆道，“我离开学校时就开始抽烟，当时还在大量抽烟。”

“去路尽头的酒吧大约半英里，所以我等到半夜，穿上旧鞋，走到一半就喘不上气了。我感觉糟透了，在路边晕倒了。”

“我设法回到了家，但在上床睡觉前，我把所有的香烟、雪茄和烟斗都扔进了垃圾桶。第二天，我买了能找到的最便宜的一双跑鞋。”

在将身体从抽烟习惯的影响中解放出来后，Spivey 开始了一段大规模的跑步挑战期，完成了大北跑（Great North Run）、伦敦马拉松和诺丁汉马拉松。但几年后，当 Brenda 遭受一系列疾病折磨时，他的体育追求戛然而止，因为他全身心地投入到照顾已故妻子的工作中。

当他的女儿 Alyson 在 2012, 年说服他尝试第一次 parkrun 时，Spivey 将其视为一次偶然。此后，他已经完成了 530 多次跑赛，获得了一种当地偶像般的地位，经常有同行跑者请求合影。

“这其实有点尴尬，因为谁想拍我的照片呢？”他谦虚地说，“一位女士带了笔，我不得不签上我的名字在背面

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Colin Spivey 的田径个人最好成绩 200米 54.97 400米 1:46.77 800米 4:17.60 1,500米 8:50.36 5,000米 30:40.23 ## 年度最佳 parkrun 时间 / 2012 27:32 / 2020 32:05 / --- / 2013 27:22 / 2021 32:02 / 2014 27:15 / 2022 30:35 / 2015 28:21 / 2023 30:40 / 2016 29:10 / 2024 29:51 / 2017 30:08 / 2025 31:35 / 2018 30:57 / 2026 32:11 / 2019 29:44 / 她的 T 恤。这看起来很荒谬。”那每周一次的 5 公里远足构成了 Spivey 实际跑步的总和，他更倾向于身体活动而非结构化训练。在遵循一套由俯卧撑、仰卧起坐和拉伸组成的常规早晨习惯后，他每天进行五英里的步行，并在周四补充一场软式网球比赛。只有在像即将到来的韩国赛事这样的大型活动之前，他才会沿着附近的运河 towpath 增加几次准备跑。“我想我只是运气好，”当被问到他晚年绽放的运动天赋的秘诀时，他说道。“我的膝盖出过几次问题。目前我的髋部有点酸痛，但那是年纪大了。如果我能做到，其他人也能做到。”如果他的腿能撑住，三年后还有一个更不可思议的雄心在等待着他。在受到多项全能运动员的启发，从他的首届世界锦标赛归来后，Spivey 曾短暂尝试训练 10 项全能。在当地一家田径俱乐部尝试过标枪、铅球和铁饼后，他在草坪上用花园竹竿搭建了一个临时跨栏。“我甚至不敢尝试，”他轻笑着说。“我以为我会把腿折断。我已经有 60 多年没有双脚同时离地了。但我告诉我的女儿，如果我能进入下一个年龄组，也就是 95-99 岁，我一定会尝试一下十项全能。” --- 10 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 骑手与滑行者：红牛 KTM 工厂赛队的 Brad Binder 在银石赛道的练习赛中从卡车上下来。Glyn Kirk / MFP / Getty Images

高能且极具娱乐性，但 MotoGP 仍处于 F1 之后

乔治·西姆斯（George Simms）写道，英国车手的匮乏和观众人数的下降，是自由媒体公司（Liberty Media）将其打造为英国主流运动之一的道路上的障碍。

乍一看，一级方程式赛车（Formula One）又在伦敦市中心一个以屏幕为墙的“娱乐空间”举办其永无止境的“激活活动”之一。字体、配色方案和美学风格都很熟悉，赞助商也是如此——红牛、卡塔尔航空，同样是刺耳的发动机声和尖叫的网红，明星们就像行走的广告牌。但仔细观察，感觉并不太对。发动机的声音更单薄、更尖锐，明星和网红的知名度较低，看起来像是本地人而非好莱坞式的帅气。事实上，侧翼陪伴车手的五辆摩托车揭晓了答案。MotoGP 来城里了。

据其传播总监迈克尔·吉布森（Michael Gibson）称，MotoGP 的新雄心是成为“英国的主流运动之一”。同样拥有 F1 的自由媒体公司在经历了漫长的收购过程后，于 2025 年 7 月买下了该赛事，并试图在两轮赛车上复制那些在四轮赛车上被证明具有革命性的策略。

英国大奖赛赛前的新闻发布会首次在伦敦市中心托特纳姆法院路站外的 Outernet 举行。这里自称是英国访问量最高的文化景点，尽管任何去过那里的人都会观察到，许多游客在那里停留的时间还不到一分钟。

在一个微风习习的周四早晨，大约 150 名粉丝被围在角落里观看车手发言，但无论是前 F1 车队经理、目前与 MotoGP 相关且几乎是英国赛车迷中最知名的名字京特·施泰纳（Guenther Steiner），还是马克·马奎斯（Marc Márquez）都没有出席新闻发布会。

Outernet 当天有五名车手值班——小浦恭典（Ai Ogura）、马可·贝泽基（Marco Bezzecchi）、佩德罗·阿科斯塔（Pedro Acosta，他留着我见过的最奇特的胡须，在干净的脸庞和渐变发型上，鬓角附近有两块面颊胡）、迪奥戈·莫雷拉（Diogo Moreira）以及 4.0518万 岁的英国人卡尔·克拉奇洛（Cal Crutchlow，第二次走出退休状态）。

目前只有小浦和贝泽基排在前五名，其中贝泽基是该项运动中最接近真正明星的人物。排名车手锦标赛第二的日本车手小浦表现得极其枯燥，而所有五人都对在银石赛道的成功机会持悲观态度。排名第七的阿科斯塔表示，即使能参与竞争“也需要奇迹”。

显然，有人试图通过 MotoGP 的高能危险性来推销它——墙上播放的许多片段显示了高速撞击和车祸。我们被告知，贝泽基在不到一个月前的比赛中锁骨骨折，但仍将参加银石赛。当基米·安东内利（Kimi Antonelli）在 5 月访问穆杰罗的意大利大奖赛时，他的主要感受是“[MotoGP 车手]绝对比我们更疯狂”。

然而，MotoGP 在英国正经历着一场人气危机。去年英国大奖赛周日的观众人数仅为 40,518 人，几乎是十年前数字的一半，且不足 2026 年 F1 观众人数的四分之一——后者在大奖赛周日有 17.5万,000 人入场，四天总计 56.4万,000 人。

导致这种下降最明显的原因是离开了免费电视广播——自 2014 年起，MotoGP 就被设在了付费墙之后，英国观众唯一的选择是订阅 TNT Sports（每月 £30.99）或内部的 VideoPass（每年 £175）。但另一个诱因是英国车手的缺乏，部分原因是人们更倾向于超级摩托车赛（Superbike）而非大奖赛赛车——目前有七名英国人参加世界超级摩托车锦标赛。

“从赛车角度来看，它 100% 比 F1 更好。如果我们能让人们接触到 MotoGP，他们就会留下来。”——卡尔·克拉奇洛

克拉奇洛（Crutchlow）之所以在银石赛道参赛，是因为他被前东家本田 LCR 队召回担任替补车手，并且预计自己将垫底。十年前，他在主场比赛中获得第二名，但他在 2020 年正式退役，他是自 1981 年巴里·希恩（Barry Sheene）以来唯一赢得顶级组别分站赛的英国人，而希恩于周四被 入选 入 MotoGP 名人堂。希恩是最后一位成为世界冠军的英国车手，夺冠年份为 1976 和 1977。自从克拉奇洛退役以来，还没有任何英国车手拥有 MotoGP 的常驻席位。“我不知道这是文化问题，还是因为没有得到我们协会的支持，因为我认为人才是在的，但我们没能看到他们，”克拉奇洛解释道。“我们在 Moto3 组别中有些选手永远无法晋级。然后如果他们进入 Moto2，表现也不太理想。这是一个困难的局面，我希望能够帮上忙，而且我已经尝试过很多很多次了。另一件事是 方面在努力。我们资助车手，但他们就是没能成功。车手需要有更强的决心，更多的韧性，以及更强烈的渴望，才能进入这个世界上最高级别的锦标赛。”但克拉奇洛认为 Liberty 可以改变 ，部分原因是这项体育产品具有极强的不可预测性和娱乐性——过去 11 场英国大奖赛由 11 位不同的冠军获得。 “ 整体上是一项伟大的运动。就赛车而言，它比 F1 更好，100%。如果我们能把人们吸引到 ，他们会留下来并继续关注，”他说。“人们对我们的运动上瘾。”关于如何吸引更多人来到银石赛道，他确实有一个初步设想，但仅表示“这涉及到将一级方程式赛车门票和 门票相结合”。施泰纳（Steiner）告诉路透社，“ 在比赛方面不需要帮助，只需要在呈现方式上改进。”尽管它可能在尝试模仿一级方程式，但仍有很长的路要走。

在哪里观看 英国大奖赛 TNT Sports 2 今日下午 1 点 --- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 11

难以预料的环法女子自行车赛进入白热化阶段，无需更多证明

电视观众人数创纪录，德米·沃尔勒林（Demi Vollering）夺得黄衫，迎接今日激动人心的收官之战

埃斯梅·刘易斯 (Esmé Lewis) 尼斯报道

在经历了一周的爬坡后，悬念终于到来。德米·沃尔勒林在尼斯赢得倒数第二赛段，夺回了环法女子自行车赛的主动权，以仅 8 秒的微弱优势从竞争对手卡西亚·尼维亚多马-菲尼（Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney）手中夺得总成绩领先地位，为今天的最后一赛段做好了完美铺垫。

就在沃尔勒林庆祝之时，卫冕冠军保琳·费兰-普雷沃（Pauline Ferrand-Prévot）已在回家的路上了，因为她未能参加在西斯特龙（Sisteron）开始的第八赛段。

当环法女子自行车赛今天在尼斯落下帷幕时，黄衫将属于它应有的主人。但无论谁站在领奖台上，今年的赛事已经交付了更重要的成果。在九天的比赛中，环法女子自行车赛证明了它已经成熟——比以往任何时候都更具竞争力，更具雄心，可见度更高，也更受欢迎。

其快速增长不仅体现在赛事周围的兴奋气氛中，也体现在数据上。赛事总监马里昂·鲁斯（Marion Rousse）表示，法国电视观众人数最高峰达到了约 400 万——约为男子环法观众人数的 80%。

“这太疯狂了，因为这项赛事才存在五年，但感觉时间长得多，因为人们真正接纳了环法女子自行车赛，”她说，“电视观众人数一直在增长。”

与男子环法不同，女子赛从一开始就难以预料。这里有真正的戏剧性。总成绩排名一直处于开放状态，势头几乎每天都在转移。西格里德·豪格塞特（Sigrid Haugset）在周一持有黄衫，马琳·罗伊瑟（Marlen Reusser）在周二持有，而尼维亚多马-菲尼在旺杜山（Mont Ventoux）完成了一次惊人的骑行，在周五夺得总成绩领先。

几位顶尖名将难以达到预期。费兰-普雷沃的卫冕之路戏剧性地崩溃，这位 Visma-Lease a Bike 队的车手因病在昨日赛段前退赛；而罗伊瑟的复出——从此前威胁到她职业生涯的倦怠和疲劳中反弹——成为了赛事的中心。

然而，环法赛的成功并非仅建立在竞技比赛之上。现在人们感觉到，女子车手大队已经形成了自己的身份认同，这种认同建立在激烈且毫不妥协的竞争，以及愿意公开讨论精英女子体育现状的意愿之上。

罗伊瑟就是这种文化的化身。这位拥有医生资格的绿党活动人士，现年 34 岁，在放弃 2023 年世界锦标赛后坦率地谈到了倦怠，她说：“我不是一台机器。”这位瑞士车手现在已成为车队中最具深度的发声者之一。

“有时我觉得人们，包括我的竞争对手，把骑行看得非常、非常严肃，”她说，“但就像生活中的一切一样——它是一件有趣的事。这只是一场自行车赛。”

罗伊瑟在获得成功的同时，也远离了职业体育的压力。在第五赛段后赞扬团队表现时，她说，她宁愿与 10 个“没有腿”但能营造积极氛围的人一起骑行，也不愿仅仅与最强的车手在一起。

奥塞安·马赫（Océane Mahé）的故事则为赛事的快速崛起提供了不同的视角，并反映了收入方面持续存在的差距。在第一赛段赢得登山王衫后，这位法国车手公开谈到了职业自行车运动的财务现状。

“今年的薪水仅比法国的最低工资高出一点，”她说，“我每月正好赚 €1,550 [€1,328]。”她的父母仍在帮她支付房租，而她则在从事职业自行车运动的同时兼顾一份工程实习工作。马赫的经历提醒人们，环法女子赛（Tour Femmes）的增长尚未转化为其车群中每个人的经济保障。女子自行车赛中最顶尖的人物，如费朗-普雷沃（Ferrand-Prévot），现在可以获得丰厚的薪水，但对于许多车手来说，参加这项运动中规模最大的赛事仍然是一种出于热爱而从事的工作，与其说是为了荣耀和自我，不如说是因为对这项运动的热爱。

女子赛的这种开放态度不仅限于金钱。金·勒库尔（Kim Le Court）坦率地谈到了月经周期对她表现的影响，将环法赛早前两天的艰难表现部分归因于经期，随后她在经期期间赢得了第六赛段。“我们经常以负面的方式看待月经，”她说，“我们需要更多地讨论它并接纳它。”

环法女子赛并非一直享有如今这种程度的尊重。在 2022 年的首届赛事期间，一系列摔车事故引发了网络上的一波厌女情绪，有人声称这些女性“不会骑车”。对于卢森堡冠军克里斯蒂娜·马杰鲁斯（Christine Majerus）来说，她的回应很简单——她在社交媒体上发布了男子环法赛摔车的照片，并配文：“给那些黑粉……我要继续发吗？”

四年后，对话发生了变化。正如鲁斯（Rousse）所言：“那时大家都在问‘女性足够优秀吗？’现在则是‘为什么没有更多赛段？为什么每个赛段不直播？’再也没有人问女性是否足够优秀了。”

自从环法女子赛复兴以来，批评者多次质疑女子车群能否应对自行车运动中最传奇的爬坡路段，而旺图山（Mont Ventoux）经常被视为终极考验之一。五个版本之后，周五在山上的惊险赛段感觉像是一次象征着女子赛走向成熟的攀登。到今晚比赛结束时，女性车手将完成自行车运动中每一个标志性的攀登，且每次都表现得游刃有余。任何怀疑的阴影都已被消除。正如雷瑟（Reusser）所说：“这证明了人类并不总是那么聪明的物种。”

观看指南 环法女子赛 (Tour de France Femmes) TNT Sports 1 今日，下午 1.45

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12 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

结果

摩托车赛 英国摩托车大奖赛（北安普顿郡，银石赛道） 赛车运动 资格赛：1 J Martin (Spa) Aprilia 1分 56. 161秒，2 R Fernandez (Spa) Aprilia 1.56. 161，3 A Opara (Lyn) 1.56. 349，4 F Di Giannantonio (Ha) Ducati 1.56. 415，5 M Bessecchi (Ha) 1.56. 456. 冲刺赛：1 J Martin (Spa) 1.56. 456. 4 A Opara (Lyn) 1.56. 1 M Bessecchi (Ha) 1.56. 1 M Roscoe (Sa) Movistar Team +1.12.

障碍赛马变得性感：创新巡回赛让这项运动焕发新生

名马与魅力降临伦敦，浪琴全球冠军巡回赛的奥运选手和名人们在切尔西角逐英国历史上最高额的奖金池

Samantha Weinberg

切尔西皇家医院的草坪从克里斯托弗·雷恩爵士设计的宏伟古典建筑向泰晤士河方向延伸。在一年中的大部分时间里，这里是一个宁静之地：游客可以四处漫步，坐在长椅上，与切尔西养老院的退休军人们共度时光。五月时，这里会热闹一段时间，因为园艺专家们会聚集在切尔西花展上。在过去的一个世纪里，这就是这里的生活节奏。

但在八月的一个炎热周末，景象截然不同。一排排黑色豪华轿车停在堤岸路上的牛环门外。内部设有销售奢侈品的摊位——从特价 £350、带有闪亮翻领的淡紫色骑马夹克，到先进的美容设备（无论它们是什么），以及按冰桶计算的 Piaf 香槟。人们在周围徘徊：周末从乡村来到这里的女士们；留着光亮发型、戴着设计师太阳镜的年轻情侣；拖着父母走向冰淇淋车的孩子们。一名身着冰蓝色长缎面裙、披着雪纺围巾的女性轻盈地走过。

铺着红地毯的台阶通向 VIP 区，那里设有面向沙地赛场的成排餐桌。VIP 们——赛车界的埃克尔斯通们、Celine 时装屋的宾客、各种贵族男女、网红以及《TOWIE》的演员们——正看着一名骑手和马匹在彩色障碍赛道上巡航，这些障碍物与成年人的平均身高一样高，宽度则像一张双人床。

这就是浪琴全球冠军巡回赛（LGCT）的伦敦站。赛场上的骑手是多次获得奥运金牌的本·马赫（Ben Maher），他正力争在今天举行的总奖金高达一百万欧元的奖项中占据一席之地，这是英国历史上最高的奖金。当他飞奔向最后一个障碍物时，人们屏住了呼吸，随后在他跃过障碍时爆发出了掌声。

障碍赛马曾在这个国家是一项主流运动。在温布利、希克斯特德和伯爵法院举办的大型马展曾是 BBC 的黄金时段节目。当直率的约克郡人哈维·史密斯（Harvey Smith）在赢得希克斯特德德比后向裁判做出疑似 V 字手势时，这曾成为头条新闻。这些赛事曾拥有像 Everest Double Glazing、Carpetright 和 Silk Cut 这样的冠名赞助商。

随后，这项运动逐渐失去了人气。骑手们在郡展中坚持不懈，赢得几百英镑的奖金，通过交易马匹来维持生计。但这项运动陷入困境，国家管理机构也没有救援计划。

然后，在 2005 年，荷兰奥运障碍赛马选手扬·托普斯（Jan Tops）在深夜灵光一现：障碍赛马必须变得“性感”。他抓起一支笔和一张餐巾纸，勾勒出了后来成为 LGCT 的指导理念。首先，这项运动应该被带入全球大城市的中心：前往摩纳哥、巴黎、墨西哥城和伊斯坦布尔。其次，每个地点都需要一个标志性的背景：开罗的金字塔、迈阿密海滩、埃菲尔铁塔、罗马的斗兽场。第三，必须提供障碍赛马历史上从未见过的奖金，以吸引世界上最好的骑手，并为这项运动注入新的生命力和光彩。

全球冠军巡回赛于 2006 年启动，共有六场赛事。2012 年，浪琴接替劳力士成为冠名赞助商。本赛季共有 17 个分站，将在 11 月中旬的利雅得总决赛中达到高潮。该巡回赛支付五星级骑手的费用，包括将马匹飞往世界各地，以及支付酒店和马厩费用。全年的总奖金为 3600万欧元 (3100 万英镑)。

“我们需要这样的赛事来向马主展示人才，向世界展示我们的运动，”另一位英国奥运选手哈里·查尔斯（Harry Charles）在周五下午大奖赛资格赛前的马厩里说道。“国家巡回赛已经死掉了。那里有大量深厚的骑手储备，但机会却很少。”不过，有些人比其他人拥有更多机会。去年，查尔斯与伊芙·乔布斯（Eve Jobs）结婚，她是史蒂夫的女儿，也是LGCT巡回赛的一名障碍赛骑手。她属于伴随该巡回赛而出现的一批拥有知名姓氏的新一代骑手：阿西娜·奥纳西斯（Athina Onassis）、在东京奥运会上获得银牌的杰西卡·斯普林斯顿（Jessica Springsteen）、乔治娜·布隆伯格（Georgina Bloomberg）以及詹妮弗·盖茨（Jennifer Gates）。目前尚不清楚是金钱先来还是光鲜名望先来，但如今两者已密不可分，并且成为了巡回赛不可或缺——有时也极具争议，因为他们比起体育成绩更好的骑手，更容易获得赛事的特邀入场券——的组成部分。十年前，Tops推出了一项新创新，带来了更多的光彩和更多的赞助商：增加团体赛。与常规的国家杯不同，这些团体是跨国界的，更接近于赛车运动。场内景象：在17站巡回赛的第11站期间，观众在练习区（上方）聚集，而骑手在赛事之间休息。在赛季开始时，每个团队招募自己的骑手，其中一名必须在25,岁以下，并向巡回赛支付“巨额资金”以获得联赛席位。这里有赛季中期的转会窗口、复杂的规则，以及面向前六名队伍的赛季末决赛。周五晚上在伦敦，由夫妻档佐伊·汉克·孔特（Zoe Hank Conter）和卡洛斯·汉克·格雷罗（Carlos Hank Guerreiro）代表的“墨西哥之友”队（其家族拥有该团队）险胜为布隆伯格的“纽约帝国”队出战的斯科特·布拉什（Scott Brash）和丹尼斯·林奇（Denis Lynch）。“我以前从未看过马术跳跃，”坐在附近的一位女性说道，她请了三天假前来观看。“这可能是我的生命中最美好的一天。”今天的大奖赛将激烈且迅猛。一百万欧元的奖金确保了这一点。三位英国奥运选手查尔斯、迈耶和布拉什将是夺冠热门，此外还包括在东京奥运会上获得个人冠军的亨里克·冯·埃克曼（Henrik von Eckermann）及其坐骑“爱德华国王”（King Edward），以及吉尔斯·托马斯（Gilles Thomas）。在场馆外，切尔西养老院的退休军人（Chelsea Pensioners）设有一个摊位。87,岁的罗伊·帕尔默（Roy Palmer）正在一块告示牌后面蹬着一台固定自行车，告示牌解释说他正在骑行一段相当于从兰兹角（Land's End）到约翰-奥-格罗茨（John o' Groats）的距离，以为皇家医院和战马纪念碑筹款。“我曾是第一位骑马的城镇传令官，在梅布尔索普（Mablethorpe），”他解释道。“我喜欢这里热闹的样子。”他向人群示意。“如果他们太傲慢，我就告诉他们：‘嘿，你在我的后花园里，最好表现得礼貌点！’”

“我们需要这样的比赛……国家巡回赛已经没落了。那里有大量优秀的骑手，但机会却很少。”——哈里·查尔斯（Harry Charles），奥运选手及 LGCT 骑手。observer.co.uk 09.08.26 13

赛程

除非另有说明，开球时间均为 3.00

今日

CARABAD 杯 - 第一轮 曼弗雷德 (Manfred) 对阵 谢菲尔德联 (Sheff Old) (4.00)。

威廉希尔苏格兰超级联赛 哈茨 (Hearts) 对阵 丹比联 (Danbie Old)，基尔马诺克 (Kilmarnock) 对阵 柯利 (Collie) (3.30)，马瑟韦尔 (Motherwell) 对阵 弗利克 (Follick)，流浪者 (Rangers) 对阵 希伯尼安 (Hibernian) (4.00)。

友谊赛 约翰·大卫·蒂克顿 (John David Ticton) 对阵 切尔西 (Chelsea) (1.00)，曼城 (Man City) 对阵 马德里竞技 (Athletics Madrid) (正午)，利物浦 (Liverpool) 对阵 摩纳哥 (Monaco) (2.30)。

板球 The Handred：SunRivers Leeds 对阵 Welsh Fire (Headingley，男子 2.30pm，女子 1) 以及 London Spirit 对阵 Birmingham Phoenix (Lynch，男子 6pm，女子 2.30)。

橄榄球联盟 Bedford 超级联赛：哈德斯菲尔德 (Huddersfield) 对阵 卡塔兰龙队 (Catalans Dragons) (7.45pm)。

明日

CARABAD 杯 - 第一轮 普利茅斯 (Plymouth) 对阵 埃克塞特 (Exeter) (8.00)。

板球 The Handred：Trent Rockets 对阵 Southern Brave (Trent Bridge，男子 6.30pm，女子 3pm)。

8月11日 星期二

The Handred：Manchester Super Giants 对阵 SunRivers Leeds (Eminion Old Trafford，男子 6.30pm，女子 3pm)。

8月12日 星期三

欧足联超级杯 - 决赛 巴黎圣日耳曼 (PSG) 对阵 阿斯顿维拉 (Aston Villa) (8.00)，H-Sidbury, Airdrie。

友谊赛 埃弗顿 (Everton) 对阵 纽卡斯尔 (Newcastle) (5.15)，曼联 (Man Utd) 对阵 利兹 (Leeds) (7.30)。

The Handred：Welsh Fire 对阵 London Spirit (Sophia Gardens Cardiff，男子 3pm，女子 1) 3.30pm，Birmingham Phoenix 对阵 Mt London (Edgbaston，男子 6.30pm，女子 3pm)。

8月13日 星期四

欧联杯 - 第三轮资格赛 - 第二回合 哈茨 (Hearts) (3) 对阵 本菲卡 (Benfica) (6)，流浪者 (Rangers) (1) 对阵 雅盖隆尼亚 (Jagiellonia Bialystock) (2) (7.30)。

欧协联 - 第三轮资格赛 - 第二回合 马瑟韦尔 (Motherwell) (2) 对阵 约克 (York) (2) (7.30)，Schenlejo (1) 对阵 希伯尼安 (Hibernian) (2) (7.00)。

橄榄球联盟 Bedford 超级联赛：Hull V 8 对阵 卡塔兰龙队 (Catalans Dragons) (8.00)，利兹 (Leeds) 对阵 利 (Leigh) (8.00)，沃灵顿 (Warrington) 对阵 约克 (York) (8.00)。

8月14日 星期五

天空投注冠军联赛 伍尔弗汉普顿 (Wolverhampton) 对阵 布莱克本 (Blackburn) (8.00)。

Premier Sports 杯 - 第二轮 基尔马诺克 (Kilmarnock) 对阵 Her。

Bedford 超级联赛：Hull 对阵 卡斯尔福德 (Castleford) (8.00)，Hull V 8 对阵 卡塔兰龙队 (Catalans Dragons) (8.00)，沃灵顿 (Warrington) 对阵 约克 (York) (8.00)。

除非另有说明，开球时间均为 3.00

The Handred：淘汰赛 - 待定 (TBC) 对阵 待定 (TBC) (The Hurlbut，男子 6pm，女子 2.35pm)。

8月15日 星期六

天空投注冠军联赛 贝尔法斯特 (Belfast) 对阵 普雷斯顿北端 (Proston North End) (12.30)，布里斯托尔城 (Bristol City) 对阵 Milwack，查尔顿 (Charlton) 对阵 德比 (Derby)，米德尔斯堡 (Middlesbrough) 对阵 林肯城 (Lincoln City)，诺维奇 (Norwich) 对阵 西布罗姆 (West Brom)，朴茨茅斯 (Portsmouth) 对阵 QPR，谢菲尔德联 (Sheff Old) 对阵 伯明翰 (Birmingham) (9.30)，斯托克 (Stoke) 对阵 斯旺西 (Swansea)。

天空投注甲级联赛 巴恩斯利 (Barnsley) 对阵 布罗姆利 (Bromley)，布莱克浦 (Blackpool) 对阵 威科姆 (Wycombe)，布拉德福德 (Bradford) 对阵 彼得堡 (Peterborough)，伯顿阿尔比恩 (Burton Albion) 对阵 Stowclope，剑桥联 (Cambridge Old) 对阵 维冈 (Wigan)，哈德斯菲尔德 (Huddersfield) 对阵 AFC 温布尔登 (AFC Wimbledon)，莱顿街 (Leyton Street) 对阵 谢菲尔德周三 (Sheff Med)，曼斯菲尔德 (Mansfield) 对阵 唐卡斯特 (Doncaster)，诺丁汉郡 (Notts County) 对阵 莱斯特 (Leicester) (12.30)，牛津联 (Oxford Old) 对阵 米尔顿凯恩斯唐斯 (Milton Keynes Dons) (12.30)，普利茅斯 (Plymouth) 对阵 斯托克波特郡 (Stockport County)，雷丁 (Reading) 对阵 卢顿 (Luton) (12.30)。

天空投注乙级联赛 阿克灵顿斯坦利 (Accrington Stanley) 对阵 考尔切斯特 (Colchester)，巴尼特 (Barnet) 对阵 索尔福德城 (Salford City)，切尔滕纳姆 (Cheltenham) 对阵 罗瑟勒姆 (Rotherham)，切斯特菲尔德 (Chesterfield) 对阵 弗利特伍德镇 (Fleetwood Town)，克劳利镇 (Crawley Town) 对阵 Crowe，吉林厄姆 (Gillingham) 对阵 沃尔索尔 (Walsall)，格里姆斯比 (Grimsby) 对阵 埃克塞特 (Exeter)，纽波特郡 (Newport County) 对阵 罗奇代尔 (Rochdale) (12.30)，北安普顿 (Northampton) 对阵 斯温登 (Swindon)，奥尔德姆 (Oldham) 对阵 波特韦尔 (Port Vale) (12.30)，特兰米尔 (Tranmere) 对阵 伯明翰 (Birmingham)，约克 (York) 对阵 布里斯托尔流浪者 (Bristol Rovers)。

阿伯丁 (Aberdeen) 对阵 邓迪 (Dundee)，邓迪联 (Dundee Old) 对阵 凯尔特人 (Celtic) (5.45)，邓弗姆林 (Dunfermline) 对阵 罗斯郡 (Ross County)。

Hull 对阵 Kew，利兹 (Leeds) 对阵 奥格斯堡 (Augsburg) (2.00)，曼联 (Man Utd) 对阵 AC米兰 (AC Milan) (1.00)，Sandbrand 对阵 雷恩 (Rennes)。

The Handred：决赛 - 待定 (TBC) 对阵 待定 (TBC) (Lynch，男子 6pm，女子 2.35pm)。

8月16日 星期日

英格兰足总社区盾杯 阿森纳 (Arsenal) 对阵 曼城 (Man City) (在卡迪夫 Principality 体育场)。

巴恩斯利 (Barnsley) 对阵 西布罗姆 (West Brom) (4.00)，沃特福德 (Watford) 对阵 南安普顿 (Southampton) (3.30)。

哈茨 (Hearts) 对阵 Hromness (7.12.00)，希伯尼安 (Hibernian) 对阵 Partish (2.00)，流浪者 (Rangers) 对阵 圣米伦 (St Mirren) (4.00)，Stonfriesemuir 对阵 Wethersett (2.00)。

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14 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

“开普十字军”在南非欢迎全黑队

西开普省的许多球迷支持新西兰队——并非所有跳羚队成员对此都感到满意

Ben Coles

上周五，新西兰队在开普敦的 DHL 体育场举行了一场公开训练赛。这里是他们此次南非“最强宿敌”巡回赛首场对阵风暴队的比赛场地，此次巡回赛将以四场对阵跳羚队的测试赛收官。

全黑队发布的一条社交媒体帖子配文为：“我们的族人。”（OUR PEOPLE.）在该配文的末尾是一个旗帜。那不是新西兰熟悉的带有红星的蓝色旗帜，而是南非的彩虹旗。另一条帖子写道：“与我们的开普敦家人分享爱。”

全黑队在活动前两天宣布了该计划。周五下午，超过 5,000 人现身现场，他们身穿全黑队的球衣，挥舞着旗帜并唱歌，等待着与他们的英雄见面。几乎所有人都是来自西开普省各地的当地支持者，在这场“最强宿敌”之战中，他们支持的不是自己的国家队，而是对手。

马里卡·塞季威克（Marica Sedgwick）与她的孙女和姐妹一起，从斯特兰（Strand）驱车两小时赶到现场，并在 Facebook 上发布了身着全黑队球衣和帽子的照片。“这简直太特别了。被这么多同样支持全黑队的同伴包围，感觉太棒了。我无法用语言来形容，”她告诉《观察者报》。

这里存在一个必须承认的历史联系。在种族隔离时期，西开普省的混血南非人会选择支持代表性更强的全黑队，而非由白人主导的跳羚队。随后，在 20 世纪 90 年代中期超级橄榄球赛（Super Rugby）的诞生，意味着新西兰球队会定期访问开普敦，对阵西省队（Western Province）以及后来的风暴队，这为当地的全黑队支持者提供了观看他们英雄比赛的机会。十字军队（Crusaders）是新西兰最成功的特许经营球队，因此诞生了“开普十字军”（Cape Crusaders）这个绰号。

这种情况在 2013 年达到了顶峰。当时，在十字军队于旧纽兰兹体育场（Newlands Stadium）击败风暴队后，南非边锋布莱恩·哈巴纳（Bryan Habana）对如此多同胞为 7,000 英里之外的球队欢呼感到沮丧。

“我非常怀疑世界上是否还有其他地方，让你在自己的主场体育场，被自己的‘同胞’在巴士上嘘走，”他说。

那场比赛是跳羚队一个艰难十年的一个闪光点。南非橄榄球联盟实施的旨在选拔更多黑人球员的配额制度，成为了球队在赛场上挣扎的导火索，导致他们在 2011 年和 2015 年橄榄球世界杯中失利，排名大幅下滑，直到拉西·埃拉斯姆斯（Rassie Erasmus）的到来。

该队随后的成功不仅体现在奖杯上——他们赢得了最近两届橄榄球世界杯，是目前男子比赛中的主导力量——而且还体现在将跳羚队转化为一个更能代表南非国家面貌的团队，并由他们的首位黑人队长西亚·科利西（Siya Kolisi）领导。

或许人们曾假设，一个更现代且更具胜利力的跳羚队会引导那些“开普十字军”转而支持他们。但根据塞季威克的说法，转向支持跳羚队的球迷数量极少。

“你会看到少数人转向支持跳羚队，但那是极少数。无论输赢，我们永远支持 [全黑队]。跳羚队赢得世界杯并保持连胜，不会改变我们家庭的看法。”

这种情绪明显激怒了一些南非人。虽然他们尊重人们有权支持自己喜欢的人，但令他们恼火的是，为了改变跳羚队（Springboks）所付出的努力还不足以团结这个国家——南非人竟然仍在为反对南非的队伍欢呼。每当有人就此批评塞季威克（Sedgwick），或在跳羚队获胜后给她发送幸灾乐祸的信息时，她都会对此“付之一笑”。“归根结底，我们尊重[跳羚队的球迷]以及他们支持的对象，所以我们希望得到同样的对待。”对于一些南非人来说，支持全黑队（All Blacks）的历史因素起到了作用；而对于另一些人来说，这似乎更多是哲学层面的，与极具吸引力的橄榄球风格以及“拒绝混蛋”的文化相关。“我就是喜欢他们所代表的东西，”塞季威克补充道。她的丈夫“一直以来”都是全黑队的支持者，他们已经结婚32年，而马里卡（Marica）的热情也始于那时。周五风暴队（Stormers）与全黑队的比赛中，新西兰队最终发力以38-21获胜，但由于票价原因，她解释说，“作为中产阶级家庭，我们无法购买[门票]”，因此选择在家里观看。然而两年前，当全黑队在开普敦对阵跳羚队时，塞季威克夫妇买到了票去观看他们支持的球队。她在回忆那一天时的热情——“哈卡舞，天哪”——极具感染力。对某些人而言，支持全黑队可能始于一种抗议；而对于包括塞季威克在内的其他人来说，这已经意味着远不止于此。这现在成了一种代际的热情。“我和我丈夫的梦想是在我们闭眼离开这个世界之前，能去新西兰看一场比赛，”她说。“那将是我们两人的终极礼物。” --- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 15

十年之后，欧斯利将从里约奥运金牌中汲取世界杯灵感

罗德·吉尔莫（Rod Gilmour）撰文：2016年决赛的进球者也将将目光投向2028, 洛杉矶奥运会

在Fifa World Cup期间，莉莉·欧斯利（Lily Owsley）正在富勒姆当地的一家咖啡店排队。咖啡师知道欧斯利的体育成就，而当时正在点餐的一位顾客正热烈地谈论着2012年伦敦奥运会的“超级星期六”以及英国队在2016. 里约奥运会上夺得的女子曲棍球金牌。该顾客并未认出欧斯利就是一名奥运选手。

“我没有表明身份，”她说，“但我说，‘是的，那两天确实让整个国家团结在了一起。’不过这确实让我感到自豪。”

本月正好是欧斯利在奥运决赛中对阵世界1荷兰队并打入首球的10周年纪念，当时她21岁，是英国曲棍球队中最年轻的成员。由于英国队凭借门将麦迪·欣奇（Maddie Hinch）的英勇表现赢得了一场令人心潮澎湃的点球大战，BBC的《十点新闻》（News at Ten）被推迟了。

8月19日的这个周年纪念日正值英格兰队参加男子和女子世界杯期间，该赛事将于下周六开始，由比利时和荷兰共同主办。作为里约奥运会阵容中唯一留队的球员，31, 岁的欧斯利将不再有任何队友可以“一起点头示意或共话当年”。

“但回顾过去是很自然的，”她说，“回想起那场比赛，只会成为世界杯的动力和积极因素。”

英格兰队在2014年世界杯中仅获得第11名的糟糕成绩，随后丹尼·凯里（Danny Kerry）被重新任命为教练。这引发了剧烈的反转。英格兰队在2015年欧洲曲棍球决赛中击败了荷兰队，随后在里约奥运会预选赛中创下了七场连胜的纪录。

由于英国队在奥运会中仅有一个名额，历史上仅由一个本土国家（通常是英格兰）负责预选赛。随后，主教练将成为这两个实体的统一角色。在凯里的带领下，球队在巴西再次经历了一段不败之旅，并在决赛中化险为夷——当时由全英格兰球员组成的英国队两次在落后情况下反超，强行将比赛拖入点球大战，随后在德奥多罗奥运曲棍球中心引发了狂欢。

电影之都：如果入选洛杉矶奥运会，莉莉·欧斯利将旨在追平劳拉·罗珀（Laura Roper）作为获得奖牌最多的英国曲棍球奥运选手的纪录。Barrington Coombs / Getty Images

“我们懂得如何获胜。如果你谈论‘战斗或逃跑’反应，我们这里只有战士。”

曾在巴黎奥运会上带领中国队获得银牌的艾莉森·安南（Alyson Annan）当时是荷兰队教练，她表示她的球队在追求奥运会三连冠的过程中，在身体和心理素质上都更胜一筹。

“这些年来我听到过类似‘你们这些女孩根本不该赢’之类的话，”欧斯利说，“考虑到我们赢得了欧锦赛、预选赛和奥运会，这种说法简直疯了。”

高飞者：欧斯利在2016年里约奥运会获得金牌，2020, 年东京奥运会获得铜牌，并在2022年英联邦运动会上随英格兰队获得金牌。Robert Ciardiana / Getty Images

“当你不是最强的球队却能赢得锦标赛时，确实存在一些事情必须对你有利的因素，但你训练得越多、越渴望获胜，我就越难以相信这些事情纯粹是运气。”

其中一个迹象就是队长马蒂·保门（Maartje Paumen）在决赛中的点球被欣奇扑出。

“她从未失手，但你可以通过压力让对手感到困难，然后事情就会开始发生，”欧斯利说，“我们懂得如何作为弱者获胜。如果在心理学中谈论‘战斗或逃跑’反应，我们这里只有战士。”

“我绝不会说我们是最强、最有天赋的球队。但在他人退缩时我们能展现出的斗志，正是我们一次又一次证明的东西。获胜变成了一种习惯。”

欧斯利承认，在2012, 年伦敦奥运会之前建立的位于比舍姆修道院（Bisham Abbey）的英国队集中训练体系，为里约奥运周期带来了“巨大的优势”。自那时起，其他国家的计划（如比利时、中国和西班牙）已经赶上来了。

在澳大利亚人马克·哈格（Mark Hager）的带领下获得东京奥运会铜牌后，现任教练大卫·拉尔夫（David Ralph）率领的英格兰队除了2022年英联邦金牌外，未能在大赛中获得奖牌。

与此同时，在过去两届国际曲棍球联合会职业联赛（一个由九支球队参加的全球性赛事）中，英格兰队表现挣扎，仅在最后关头才勉强避免了降级。欧斯利表示：“那将会是毁灭性的。但也许我们需要在职业联赛的底层待上几年，或者在欧洲曲棍球锦标赛中无法进入半决赛，才能感受到失败带来的后果。”“目前的这组球员可能是我见过的最有天赋的一批。难点在于如何将这种天赋在世界杯的压力时刻展现出来。”相反，荷兰队已成为体育界最具统治力的球队之一。自里约以来，他们参加了 210 场比赛，仅输掉七场。自 2016 年输给英国队以来，他们在重大赛事中也保持不败。欧斯利说：“荷兰人的水平可能有点遥不可及，但我们最近击败了一些顶尖球队。”这位布里斯托人将曲棍球与为全球客户提供的神经科学咨询和行为研究相结合，在投身于曲棍球所锻造的团队凝聚力之前，她曾是一名英国学校的 800 米跑者。她的弟弟弗雷迪曾是一名学校 200 米运动员，在一次足部受伤迫使他退出之前，他曾被看好能进入里约奥运会的英国田径队。“观看里约的赛事在某种程度上救赎了我，通过莉莉，我看到那是可能的，”弗雷迪说。“安迪·穆雷在为国争光，而你的姐姐——那个你从小看着一起在上下铺床上长大的人——在奥运决赛中进球了。这改变了我的心态。”“这可能就是为什么我在办公室工作四年后，决定重新签约职业体育，加入英国橄榄球七人制队尝试一下。”在压力性骨折之后，弗雷迪转向橄榄球事业，此后先后效力于布里斯托熊队和爱丁堡队。这位 29 岁的运动员通过祖母获得了苏格兰资格，现在将在爱丁堡全职比赛，并希望帮助引导英国队前往 LA 2028。如果莉莉被选中参加在洛杉矶举行的第四届奥运会，她将旨在追平劳拉·罗珀的记录，成为获得奖牌最多的英国曲棍球奥运选手（无论男女）。“我和莉莉有可能在奥运会上结束我们的职业生涯，”弗雷迪说。“还有什么能比这更好的呢？”

观看指南 FIII 曲棍球世界杯 YouTube：Channel 4 Sport 8 月 15-30 日

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16 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

下周

是“文化”还是“问题”？这根本不符合板球精神

英格兰队本可以通过尽情享用法式花式蛋糕来避免在南半球遭遇的麻烦。

吉尔斯·史密斯（Giles Smith）

在我打板球的那些年里（在中学里总共五个夏季学期，之后我们被允许放弃板球转而“从事”网球），我自然地从一线获得了对这项运动运作方式的详细了解。而我特别理解的是，茶点对这项运动具有绝对的重要性。

我很快意识到，板球茶点是更广泛的“茶”类别中一个闪光的子集，而且如果你运气好，其中很可能会出现 Mr Kipling 品牌的法式花式蛋糕（French fancies）。这些蛋糕拥有极具辨识度的高亮糖霜、毫不妥协的亮黄色海绵蛋糕，以及可能让人兴奋到飞起的糖分冲击。毫不夸张地说，这些极具个性的单份蛋糕在当时将我与这项运动紧紧联系在一起，而且我并非孤例。

顺便提一句，Mr Kipling 的法式花式蛋糕有时被称为“糖霜花式蛋糕”（fondant fancies），但真正懂蛋糕的人会告诉你，那是通用术语，与 Mr Kipling 早在 1967 年就成功申请并一直强力使用的注册商标有所区别。在这些事情上保持准确很重要——而且不能接受任何仿制品。

总之，Mr Kipling 的法式花式蛋糕几乎定义了我的板球时光。那么，将我所熟知的板球描述为具有一种“蛋糕文化”是否公平？当然，毫不犹豫地如此。蛋糕深深植根于我们所从事的比赛之中。

但由此延伸，这是否意味着我们有“蛋糕问题”？这是一个复杂得多、甚至带有情感色彩的问题。

本·斯托克斯（Ben Stokes）上周在谈到整个板球运动具有一种“饮酒文化”时成为了头条新闻。但即便在这次坦白中，斯托克斯仍出于保护心理，倾向于反驳英格兰队的体制具有“饮酒问题”这一观点——他说，“把这样极端的事情强加给一支球队”。

我想接下来的问题就变成了： “文化”在哪里结束，“问题”又从哪里开始？

假设在我的时代，我们在赛后一直吃到晚上，最后进入夜总会，肚子里塞满了糖霜 既要蛋糕又要吃蛋糕：极佳的零食是中学板球运动中不可磨灭的一部分。Getty Images 糖霜，并与橄榄球运动员大打出手。或者假设我们一次性吞下了大量 Mr Kipling 的顶级产品，然后出现在社交媒体上，在澳大利亚沿海度假胜地努萨（Noosa）拍摄的视频中，显然处于香草奶油馅带来的亢奋状态且满身碎屑。我们是否会被迫承认，在我们的案例中，“蛋糕文化”现在变成了“蛋糕问题”？

我真的不知道。

总之，这完全是假设性的，因为我们根本没那么做。但也许在反思之后，这种关于“文化”与“问题”的区分，对于我们需要进行的讨论来说，有点像走进了死胡同。

我想起 ITV 最近在世界杯报道中一次令人难忘的对话，马克·普加奇（Mark Pougatch）提到了“如今足球运动员惊人的职业寿命”——罗纳尔多 41 岁，梅西 39 岁，莫德里奇 40 岁，等等。

对此，加里·内维尔（Gary Neville）说：“马克，关于这一点，我要把它说得非常简单。球员们停止饮酒了。坦白说，我认为这是一个巨大的转折点。当然还有体育科学、医疗：但说实话，酒精会带来伤病，而那会终结你的职业生涯。”

在他身边，邓肯·弗格森（Duncan Ferguson）说：“好吧，我做过 10 次手术。”

“无需再问，法官大人，”普加奇回答道。

重点在于，在如今的足球界，当人们谈论一家俱乐部存在“饮酒文化”时，他们几乎总是在谈论一些令人遗憾的事情，这些事情通常由新任经理继承，需要在情况好转之前被根除或需要根除。人们相当自动地假设，对于顶级足球而言，“饮酒文化”就是“饮酒问题”。

那么，如果同样的情况适用于英格兰板球队又如何？在这场辩论中，我们可以陷入各种哲学和语义的死胡同，但最终，如果我们能同意在对话中剔除具有潜在煽动性的词汇“饮酒问题”，并简单地承认对于体育运动而言，“饮酒文化”本身就是一种复杂情况——或者对于英格兰板球队来说确实如此——那么也许这一切都无关紧要。这绝对能简化争论，不是吗？不管怎样，再来一块法式甜点？我想你正要这么问。

田径赛的主场希望与超级杯预示足球回归

帕特里克·基德（Patrick Kidd）写道，现在也是职业高尔夫球手的横财季节，而嘈杂的板式网球（padel）在伦敦首次亮相。由于英国经常举办顶尖赛事，我们一直对此习以为常，以至于得知本周在伯明翰举行的欧洲田径锦标赛是我们首次主办此类赛事时，感到十分惊讶。主场希望之一是马特·哈德森-史密斯（Matt Hudson-Smith），他曾获得两项400米欧洲冠军和两项接力冠军。亚历山大体育场（Alexander Stadium）最后一个弯道上的看台以这位跑者命名，因为他九岁时就在那里开始训练。他将于明天上午 11.55 开始比赛，决赛在周三晚上 8.50 举行（所有赛事在TNT Sports 3 播出）。卡塔里娜·约翰逊-汤普森（Katarina Johnson-Thompson）将于周五和周六参加七项全能赛，而迪娜·阿舍-史密斯（Dina Asher-Smith）则在寻求100米和200米的第三枚金牌（周一和周四，均为晚上 9.50）。乔治亚·亨特·贝尔（Georgia Hunter Bell）在3月获得 1,500. 米世界室内金牌后，又增加了800米英联邦运动会冠军，但她将较短距离的比赛留给了基利·霍奇金森（Keely Hodgkinson）（800米决赛周五晚上 9.46；1,500. 米周日晚上 9.13）。足球顶级俱乐部仍处于季前友谊赛模式，因为他们的顶尖球员在世界杯后正在休息。今天的赛程包括阿森纳对阵多特蒙德、曼城对阵马德里竞技、利物浦对阵摩纳哥以及柔佛达鲁尔太美对阵切尔西，全部在俱乐部网站直播。当阿斯顿维拉在欧足联超级杯中对阵巴黎圣日耳曼时，英格兰顶级联赛的竞争将正式开始。维拉在 1982, 年赢得了该奖杯，而巴黎圣日耳曼在去年 08 月通过点球击败托特纳姆热刺后，成为了首个夺冠的法国冠军（周三，TNT Sports 1, 晚上 8pm）。高尔夫球现在进入了一年中最令人咋舌的获利时期，PGA巡回赛排名前 70 名的球员将获得为期三周的赛事资格，总奖金高达 1.4亿美元 (1.04 亿英镑)。汤米·弗利特伍德（Tommy Fleetwood）去年在联邦快递杯季后赛中排名第九，随后获得第三、第四和第一名，赢得了巨额报酬。菲茨帕特里克兄弟今年可能会表现出色，马特排名第三，亚历克斯排名12。季后赛以圣朱德锦标赛开始（周四，Sky Sports Golf，晚上 7pm）。板式网球（Padel）是一种借鉴了网球的球网和壁球墙壁的运动， 1969 年发明于墨西哥，近年来在英国兴起。 2019, 年，英国有 72 个球场；现在则有超过 1,500. 个。由于使用实心球拍和玻璃墙，这是一种出了名的嘈杂运动。伦敦正在奥林匹亚（Olympia）举办首届Premier Padel锦标赛，尽管英国最顶尖的男子选手世界排名第 173 位，最顶尖的女子选手仅勉强进入前 100, 名，主场挑战并未持续太久。西班牙和阿根廷占据主导地位。如果你想了解这项运动，决赛在今天下午举行（TNT Sports 4, 下午 2pm）。

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观察者报 09 / 08 / 26

新评论

俄罗斯的反抗

阿斯内·塞耶斯塔德（Asne Seierstad）采访敢于对抗普京的女性

权力的游戏

芭芭拉·艾伦（Barbara Ellen）：电视剧登上皇家莎士比亚剧团（RSC）舞台

责怪好莱坞

大卫·汤姆森（David Thomson）探讨电影如何塑造了特朗普

电影明星与小说家

蕾切尔·卡斯克（Rachel Cusk）极具争议的新书揭秘了一位A级名友的生活。梅根·诺兰（Megan Nolan）追问真相何在

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2

议程

每周日最犀利的艺术、科学、书籍与思想评论

29

议程

4-7 - 在现实生活中：泽维尔·格林伍德（Xavier Greenwood）深入探索Imax放映室；劳拉·卡明（Laura Cumming）寻找完美的海滩读物；约翰·辛普森（John Simpson）遭到喝倒彩；西蒙·巴恩斯（Simon Barnes）访问邓威奇希斯（Dunwich Heath） - 网格：石内都美子（Ishiuchi Miyako）及其母亲留下的东西 - 访谈：大卫·汤姆森（David Thomson）探讨电影如何塑造了特朗普

评论家

15-23 - 芭芭拉·艾伦（Barbara Ellen）揭秘《权力的游戏》剧作幕后 - 米兰达·索耶（Miranda Sawyer）与蒂姆·布斯（Tim Booth）回顾摇滚历史 - 温迪·艾德（Wendy Ide）观看托芙·扬松（Tove Jansson）的悲伤经典在银幕上呈现 - 罗文·摩尔（Rowan Moore）探讨我们可以从伊朗建筑中学到什么

特写 8-14

• 封面故事：梅根·诺兰（Megan Nolan）探讨瑞秋·卡斯克（Rachel Cusk）的新小说是否因过于接近真相而令人不安
• 访谈：奥斯内·塞耶斯塔德（Åsne Seierstad）会见玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜（Maria Andreyevna），她正领导一场反对俄罗斯动员平民的抗议活动
• 约翰·诺顿（John Naughton）分析为何AI公司可能会购买2022年之前出版的书籍

书评 24-29

• 伊迪丝·霍尔（Edith Hall）评述《演说家》（Orator），这是凯瑟琳·爱德华兹（Catharine Edwards）撰写的关于罗马政治家西塞罗的新传记
• 黛西·林奇（Daisy Lynch）品鉴埃利·戴维斯（Eli Davies）的《单身女性食谱》（The Spinster Cookbook）中的美味
• 基利安·福克斯（Killian Fox）将《夜莺》（The Nightingales）选为本月推荐图形小说
• 苏西·登特（Susie Dent）谈论她的最新谋杀谜案小说《死亡大写》（Death Writ Large）

益智游戏与电视 30-40

• 普通人填字游戏、数独、Gemelo、国际象棋、猜图、电影连连看、Lexipedia问答以及金发姑娘填字游戏
• 本周电视与广播亮点
• 芭芭拉·艾伦（Barbara Ellen）评述《占有》（Possession），这部剧是电视版对《罪人》（Sinners）的回应

关注我们的Instagram @ObsNewReview；发送电子邮件至 review@observer.co.uk

撰稿人

• 奥斯内·塞耶斯塔德（Åsne Seierstad，第11页）是《喀布尔书商》（The Bookseller of Kabul）的作者。她在俄罗斯度过了两年时间撰写《绝口不提战争》（Never Say War），该书于本月出版。
• 伊迪丝·霍尔（Edith Hall，第24页）是杜伦大学古代史教授。她的著作《直面愤怒女神》（Facing Down the Furies）获得了国际希腊奖。
• 阿马尔·卡利亚（Ammar Kalia，第26页）为《观察者报》新评论版撰写音乐评论。他的第一部小说《一个人是一场祈祷》（A Person is a Prayer）于2024年出版。
• 梅根·诺兰（Megan Nolan，第8页）居住在纽约。她的小说《绝望之举》（Acts of Desperation）被卡尔·奥韦·克瑙高德（Karl Ove Knauogård）描述为“绝无仅有的爱情故事”。
• 罗文·摩尔（Rowan Moore，第20页）是《观察者报》的建筑评论家。他最近出版的著作是《财产：构建世界的神话》（Property: The Myth that Built the World）。

大局观

奥斯卡·尼迈耶的国民酒店（Hotel Nacional）曾是现代主义的巅峰，但在文森特·卡塔拉（Vincent Catala）的清晨照片中，它看起来像一枚“古老且生锈的火箭”。 封面人物：Getty Images 拍摄的瑞秋·卡斯克（Rachel Cusk）以及 WireImage 为 Rogers & Cowan 拍摄的娜塔莉·波特曼（Natalie Portman） --- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 3

这张由文森特·卡塔拉在里约热内卢拍摄的照片，除了中心那座半废弃的、像巴别塔一样的塔楼外，最令人震撼的是它竟如此空旷。通常在里约以及更广泛的巴西影像中，我们习惯于看到大量的人群——在人口稠密的贫民窟、拥挤的海滩、熙攘的狂欢节中。而在这里，如果不是因为最左侧山坡定居点以及右侧海滨大道上的灯光，我们可能会将其想象成一座所有人类生命都被剔除的后末日大都市。

卡塔拉筹备已久的《巴西岛》（Île Brésil）系列作品目前正在布鲁塞尔摄影博物馆展出，这张照片拍摄于 2016. 他于 2008, 从法国移居巴西，在 18 年的居住期间，他一直被大城市边缘人口稀少的地区所吸引。在里约，这就是远离伊帕内玛（Ipanema）和科帕卡巴纳（Copacabana）的西区。

这张图像中的塔楼位于南区边界，是国民酒店（Hotel Nacional），由建筑师奥斯卡·尼迈耶设计并于 1972 年完工，下方的街道也以他的姓氏命名。该酒店在鼎盛时期被视为超现代建筑，于 1995 年关闭并陷入失修状态。当卡塔拉发现它时，酒店正处于缓慢的翻修过程中。它那反乌托邦的外观吸引了他，以及它 108 米的高度，这在当地很不寻常。他说服了一家附近酒店的所有者让他进入一个高层阳台，并在凌晨 4 点拍摄了这座塔楼，因此画面中没有行人。

“它看起来像一枚火箭——一枚古老且生锈的火箭，”卡塔拉在谈到照片中的塔楼时说道，塔顶被他的广角镜头截掉了。在废弃期间，这里经常有非法占用者和涂鸦艺术家出没（贾斯汀·比伯在 2013 年因在内部喷漆而被捕）。卡塔拉听闻过在 50 米高房间里举行疯狂派对的故事。现在酒店重新开放了。“它变得完全干净了，失去了原有的特质，”卡塔拉说。但这座建筑名声不佳的中年危机被这张照片永久保存，供所有人审视。

《文森特·卡塔拉：巴西岛》展览在布鲁塞尔的沙勒鲁瓦摄影博物馆展出至 9 月 27 日。卡塔拉同名书籍由 Dunes Editions 出版。

--- 4 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

现实生活

来自手机屏幕之外世界的观察与场景

电影之窗 邂逅放映员

他在黑暗中工作，但他创造的一切皆为光芒。BFI Imax 的首席放映员迈克尔·福特（Michael Ford）很难说出自己最喜欢的电影，但他确实有一家最喜欢的电影院。那是他在绍森德-昂-希（Southend-on-Sea）开始职业生涯的地方。“我去找那些拆除建筑的人，问能不能给我一块砖作为纪念品，”福特在类似喷气发动机的轰鸣声中说道，“当《侏罗纪公园》里的技术变成现实时，我就能克隆我的电影院。”

那台“喷气发动机”实际上并不是喷气发动机。它是 Imax 放映机的声音，这是一个重达一吨的灰色机械巨兽，每秒将 5英尺7英寸 的胶片投射到一块几乎有五辆伦敦巴士那么高的屏幕上。一个玻璃透镜板将一帧画面吸附在镜头上，将其固定，释放，然后移动到下一帧。“一旦出问题，它会告诉你，”福特说，“你会开始听到奇怪的声音。”

全篇由 Imax 摄影机拍摄的《奥德赛》（The Odyssey）胶片全长 11 英里，由 25万,000 个独立帧组成。它的重量相当于一辆小汽车。当我走向 BFI 的放映室时，经过了三个写着“IMAX 财产”的银色飞行箱。几个月前，这些箱子将三卷胶片从加利福尼亚运到伦敦，由团队在那里进行检查并拼接。BFI Imax 是全球仅有的 41 家能够以原始拍摄格式放映该片的电影院之一。

我在一场放映进行到一半时进入了放映室。在我的下方，透过玻璃窗，可以看到 500 名观众。福特从早上 7 点起就在这里，并且已经在考虑下一场放映。总共将有近 200 场《奥德赛》的放映，有些人甚至飞越数千英里来到 BFI 观看。

福特作为放映员的生活始于 48 年前。那时，胶卷是用水泥拼接的，工作的关键部分是掌握“切换”（changeovers），即在放映过程中无缝地在不同胶卷之间切换。“我们那时就像穴居人，”福特说，“如果我回到那时给同事们看这台机器，那简直就是科幻小说。”多亏了被称为“收卷盘”（take-up platters）的金属盘（看起来像巨大的蛋糕托盘），现在用胶片放映的电影可以组装在单一卷轴中，在放映机中滚动而无需切换。

福特仍然会做焦虑的噩梦。放映员最常见的敌人是灰尘，以免它在爱琴海的镜头中留下斑点，或者让马特·达蒙（Matt Damon）看起来像有头皮屑。放映室保持在一定的湿度，而放映机上的一个装置像雨刷一样清洁镜头。其他问题还包括声音同步失败（声音被上传到带有 CD-Rom 驱动器的独立系统），或者哪怕只有一帧的对齐偏差。

对福特来说，真正的噩梦将是冷却系统故障，导致放映机内部 1.5万,000 瓦的灯泡之一爆炸。灯泡的温度可以像太阳表面一样高。“我们甚至不想提到那个，”他说。

当演职员表结束，福特按下停止键，《奥德赛》胶片的尾端不体面地瘫在地上，此时第一次出现了寂静。飞机已着陆。当天的第一场放映，本月的第 52 场，圆满完成。福特解开胶片。然后是清理这头“巨兽”的时间。完成后，福特小心地将胶片重新穿过由滚轮和链轮组成的迷宫，就像组装一个弹珠轨道一样。他透过镜头检查一切是否同步，放入移动卷轴所需的滚动环，并将放映机移回原位。起飞时间到了。

几天后，我在放映厅观看了《奥德赛》。“我们衰老，而你随之老去”，这就是福特描述我们与模拟胶片之间关系的方式。直到我观看这部电影时，我才明白他的意思。福特的同事之一，艾丽丝·雷索尔（Elise Rethore），

告诉我留意特勒马库斯射鸟的那场戏。原版胶片的宽镜头里有一道划痕。它在窄镜头中消失，随后又重新出现。《奥德赛》的第一道皱纹。当我看到它时，我必须竭尽全力克制住才没有大声喊出地认出它。我也许会在接下来的 50 年里再次看到它。你可能也会。Xavier Greenwood

海外笔记

海边阅读。在诺曼底盛夏的高温中，一名戴着墨镜的女子在海边的躺椅上阅读着安妮·埃尔诺的作品。潮汐在她的镜片中变换。在她身边，一位皮肤黝黑的老海员正沉浸在一部阿加莎·克里斯蒂的马普尔小姐系列法译本中，而一个裹着浴巾、浴巾一直拉到滴水的耳朵边的小游泳者，则俯身阅读着一本漫画。他们都是一座大型木制海滩小屋的访客，小屋将仁慈的阴影投射在他们的阅读空间之上。其亮色的一侧写着“Lire à la Plage”（海边阅读）的字样。

“海边阅读”每年在被称为“les grandes vacances”（大假期）的漫长暑假期间举行。在名称富有诗意的塞纳-马里蒂姆省（Département de la Seine-Maritime）的运营下，从勒阿弗尔到迪耶普，12座小型海滨图书馆像灯塔一样出现在诺曼底海岸线上。它们曾经拥有橙色的斜屋顶和鲜红色的椅子；现在的涂装是清新的蓝色和白色。每座图书馆提供超过1,000种出版物，并配备一名图书管理员以提供鼓励和建议。这里只有一条被严格遵守的规则，即任何书籍都不得离开海滩。

我在勒阿弗尔附近的圣阿德雷斯遇到了这个令人惊叹的场景，这是一个优雅的小市镇，莎拉·伯恩哈特曾在这里建过房子，比利时政府在第一次世界大战期间也曾在这里舒适地流亡。我热爱这里的一切：低垂的头颅和静止的身体，迁移的心灵以及惊人的寂静。有些读者是“海边阅读”的常客，而另一些人，比如我，只是偶然路过。但当我坐在附近咖啡馆里，喝着浓缩咖啡，焦虑地检查短信、新闻和飞逝的时光时，他们已经失去了任何时间感。

在海滩上，过了某个阶段之后，我不知道该拿自己怎么办。我们游泳，沿着潮汐行走，呼吸充满活力的空气。这里有玻璃般透明的岩石水池构成的微观世界，以及由小螃蟹和被海水冲刷的贝壳组成的宝库。但除此之外呢？小时候，在边境地区的海滩上蜷缩在防风屏障内，我常在潮湿的下午阅读，被每一本二手企鹅出版社（Puffin）版书籍搞得异常兴奋。今天这里的有些女孩也是如此，晒黑的双腿勾在躺椅边缘，以一种吮吸发丝般的专注翻阅着书页。

但成年后，我太经常带着一本错误的书来到海滩了。布克奖得主的作品结果显得冷漠且不尽人意；详尽的调查报告变得乏味；著名的杰作在每一次辛苦换来的假期中让你感到挫败。我曾在埃什托里尔拥挤的沙滩上，在突尼斯附近的一个岛上，在马耳他的岩石之间，以及最近在那个没有酷热萎靡之借口的边境海滩上，未能读进玛格丽特·尤瑟纳尔的《哈德良回忆录》。

不过，我有一个更优秀的榜样，那就是安妮·埃尔诺本人，她曾表示，即使在获得玛格丽特·尤瑟纳尔奖时，她也觉得与同胞的虚构文学没有共鸣。现在，想象一下能将那本书和防晒霜、温水一起放回包里的快乐吧。想象一下能走回这些小图书馆中——距离你的椅子仅两步之遥——将你的书换成另一本。诚然，“人人有书读”的原则占据主导。这里有漫画、青少年小说和大量的浪漫小说。但这里同样有《沃特希普山》，以及马德琳、福楼拜和米歇尔·韦勒贝克。

那位戴着墨镜阅读埃尔诺《岁月》的法国女人，很可能就是叙述者在现实生活中的对应人物。她独自一人在海滩上，举止优雅且专注，修剪整齐的双手中拿着那本平装书。伽利玛出版社封面上的奶油色已经磨损得相当厉害，封底上似乎还有一个淡淡的咖啡杯印记。埃尔诺这部从她在诺曼底的早年生活写起的自传杰作，出版于2008年。因此，人们完全有可能从那时起就在这些海边的小图书馆里阅读这本书。因为“海滩阅读”（Lire à la Plage）这一绝妙的发明今年就满20岁了。劳拉·卡明（Laura Cumming）

舞台之上 捣蛋者的智慧

在伦敦北部伊斯灵顿（Islington）的二级保护建筑 Hoxley & Porter 酒吧原址上，某种形式的旅店已经屹立了近 400 年。因此，我不怀疑那些面色红润、喋喋不休、酩酊大醉且好为人师的绅士原型，对于那些古老的墙壁来说是十分熟悉的。正是遵循这种悠久的传统，我最近在当地举办的一场开放麦喜剧之夜（这场活动叫 Is-It-Lington，没错，他们知道这个名字很糟糕）上，听到一名男子突然出声。这名捣蛋者给每一个表演者都提供了他自己的笑点，并就如何能更有趣给出不请自来的建议。我后来确认，这个男人自己从未“从事过喜剧”。

上周，我抵达爱丁堡参加边缘艺术节（Fringe festival），随行的还有来自世界各地的男性（可能还有一些女性），他们无疑正准备用类似的醉酒捣蛋行为淹没旧城区。我询问这里的喜剧演员，让他们分享一些收到的令人难忘的不请自来的建议。

亚历克斯·基特森（Alex Kitson）正带着他的演出《现在听好了》（Now Look Here）参加艺术节，他提到在一次作品研讨会后，他正与一名同行聊天，这时一名观众询问是否可以坐在一旁观看且保持沉默。“他立刻反悔了，”基特森告诉我，“他给我的最大建议是，我应该多写一些关于人乳多么美味且营养的素材。他以前喝过前任的，并说这不仅美味，而且对身体极其有益。而我之前根本没开过关于人乳的玩笑。”

与此同时，爱尔兰脱口秀演员格里德·法雷利（Gearid Farrelly）回忆道，当他准备登台时，一名观众走过来向他解释获得笑声的关键。“他凑近我说：‘他们以为故事在往一个方向发展，但实际上它在往另一个方向发展……’ 也就是说……喜剧最基础的常识。”法雷利回忆道，“演出结束后，当我走出去时，他说：‘看，你采纳了我的建议。’”我敢肯定，他现在一定在某个地方告诉飞行员不要把飞机开进海里。

来自休斯顿、具有印度血统的喜剧演员艾比·戈文丹（Abby Govindan）正以《快 30 了》（Pushing 30）完成她的边缘艺术节首秀，她对印度裔美国男性提供喜剧技巧感到厌烦，起初她认为这只是针对她个人。“我在后台向其他喜剧演员发泄。然后他们都说：‘事实上，印度男人在演出结束后也会找我们，给我们建议如何改进笑话。’”她说，这在某种程度上令人耳目一新——甚至可能很“觉醒”（woke），“他们是机会均等地令人讨厌。”

有些观众甚至带有视频提示。在爱丁堡表演《双体船》（Catamaran）的米洛·爱德华兹（Milo Edwards）说：“一名中年女士在演出后走过来对我说：‘我真的很喜欢，但你有没有试过做一些更像这样的东西？’ 然后她转过她的 iPad，给我看了詹姆斯·阿卡斯特（James Acaster）在《阿波罗现场》（Live at the Apollo）中的表演。”

然而，糟糕的建议并非观众的专利，加拿大喜剧演员菲尔·尼科尔（Phil Nichol）也发现了这一点，他今年的演出名为《我们不是很幸运吗》（Aren't We Lucky）。“2006 年，在爱丁堡边缘艺术节上，一位非常有权势的喜剧经纪人告诉我，如果我的演出以脱光衣服结束，会毁了我的职业生涯，”他说，“同年，我凭借《裸体种族主义者》（The Naked Racist）赢得了爱丁堡喜剧奖。权力并不总是像它自以为的那样聪明。”

约翰·辛普森（John Simpson）

乡村生活

在邓威奇荒原（Dunwich Heath）上，起初是一次寻找夜鹰的行动；结果却成了一场终生难忘的音乐会——而现在看来，它更像是一曲安魂曲。当时是晚上10点，天空晴朗星光璀璨，空气静谧得令人不安。那是真正的乡村之黑。我们长时间地静默伫立，任由黑夜将我们包围。随后，夜鹰发出了歌唱之声：那种诡异的、如同无线电般的墙式鸣叫，真的是鸟类发出的吗？接着，一只夜莺开始歌唱：那是世界上最复杂的鸟鸣之一。然后是一阵奇特的音乐般的沙哑声：竟然是一只黄腹蟾蜍。一只石原鸻加上了如女妖般的哀嚎，随后是荒原下方芦苇床中大麻鳀的轰鸣声。

这里是邓威奇荒原，一个最近被一场持续近一周的大火摧毁的地方，火灾烧毁了150公顷（370英亩）覆盖着石楠的低地荒原。一片黑色的土地，一片散发着恶臭的黑色土地：“那种刺鼻的味道；不仅仅是烟味——你能感觉到动物们在火焰中死去，”英国皇家鸟类保护协会（RSPB）萨福克郡区域经理亚当·罗兰兹（Adam Rowlands）说道，该协会拥有相邻的明斯米尔（Minsmere）自然保护区。我的第一本野生动物书籍就以明斯米尔为背景，名为《逆自然而飞》（Flying in the Face of Nature），出版于30多年前。那本书记录了一年之中充满了大麻鳀、反嘴鹬和夜莺的时光。在保护区以东是北海；向北，邓威奇的荒原从芦苇床中升起。我30年前搬到了东英吉利，邓威奇是我过去和现在的一部分。

但尽管我对此持有个人情感，我也能保持客观的视角。因此有两点需要考虑。第一，虽然150公顷听起来很多，但与每天被摧毁的热带雨林面积（一项估计为1.82万,200公顷）相比，这并不算多。第二，世界上还有很多更糟糕的事情在发生：这不是战争，没有人类丧生。然而，我们生活在世界上自然资源最匮乏的国家之一。随着赛兹韦尔C（Sizewell C）核电站的建设，东萨福克郡正在经历一个长期的破坏过程：再失去一点野生土地就显得有些残酷。低地荒原是稀有之物：在过去的几个世纪里，已有超过80%被摧毁。剩下的部分富含野生动物、人类历史和人类需求。

对于像达特福德苇莺这样的荒原特有种来说，这场火灾是个极坏的消息；根据RSPB最新的调查，目前英国仅存4,100对。我是否听到你在问：“那又怎样？”好吧，我不会在生物多样性上说教。我只想指出，环境并不是政客告诉我们的那种“可选配置”；环境是我们所有人的生存之所。在八月的一个好天气里，邓威奇荒原通常挤满了在紫色石楠中寻求平静、自然、野性、空间和意义的人们；在我们东英吉利人所称的悬崖下方，大海在巨大的天空下发出鼾声。如果你需要将其货币化，请考虑2025-26年度英格兰国民医疗服务体系（NHS）在心理健康方面的年度支出：约130亿英镑。

在不断萎缩的栖息地中，种群数量较少的物种定义上就是脆弱的。有多少夜鹰巢穴被摧毁了？如果真的有奇迹般地幸存下来，它们明年回到这里时，将发现这里已无法维持生计。自然会恢复，这是它的职责。罗兰兹估计这将需要25年：对于萨福克郡的人民、数百万游客以及所有非人类物种来说，这将是两个半十年（two and a half decades）的匮乏。这场火灾发生在又一次热浪中，消防员在防护装备下遭受热衰竭。上周，雷丁大学宣布，我们刚刚经历了自120年前记录开始以来最热、最干燥且阳光最充足的七月。邓威奇荒原像火炬一样燃烧，揭示了一个真相：气候危机是真实的，正在发生，并且正在改变世界。这关乎夜鹰，也关乎这个星球及其主导物种的未来。

西蒙·巴恩斯（Simon Barnes）

仍在上映

观察者报评论员为您推荐不容错过的活动

艺术

Frank Bowling 的《Driven to Draw》在伦敦皇家绘画学校展出，直到 8 月 22 日。此次展览涵盖了“该艺术家 60 多年的作品，包括从其档案中提取的准备草图和拼贴画，以及完成的纸上作品和绘画”。 Caitlin Macdonald

电影

“汤姆·霍兰德在举止间有一种近乎轻盈的特质，在这里发挥得极其出色”——在《蜘蛛侠：全新之日》（Spider-Man: Brand / New Day）中，该片目前仍在全国电影院上映。 Wendy Ide

古典音乐

“低调的布景和服装——偶尔闪现的色彩——就像一个模板，让疯狂的动作在周围和内部自由流动。”《纳克索斯的安托万》（Antoine of Naxos）在东萨塞克斯郡刘易斯的格林德本剧院继续演出，直到 8 月 29 日。 Fiona Maddocks

现正预订

流行音乐

Simple Things 音乐节的门票现已开售，该活动将于 11 月 7 日在布里斯托市中心的多个场馆举行。由艺术家 Jeremy Defer 和新爵士先驱 Shabaka 等人客座策划，其多元的阵容包括美国说唱歌手 Mykki Blanco、艺术流行双人组 Mermaid Chunky 以及澳大利亚电子组合 the Avalanches。

剧院

奥古斯特·威尔逊的《栅栏》（Fences）曾获得 1987 年普利策戏剧奖和 1987 年托尼奖最佳剧本奖，该剧将于今年秋季在由 Daniel Bailey 执导的新制作中回归舞台，由 Ray Fearon 和 Madeline Appiah 分别饰演 Troy 和 Rose。该剧将于 9 月 11 日至 11 月 14 日在利兹、牛津、伦敦、曼彻斯特和诺丁汉巡演。

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6 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 日程

网格

这些由宫市美和拍摄的动态照片探讨了日常物品如何让我们与逝去的人更加亲近

旧口红、穿旧的鞋子、一把刷子上仍缠绕着头发。这些物品看起来可能无关紧要，但在摄影师宫市美和（Ishiuchi Miyako）令人动容的系列作品《母亲》（Mother's）中，它们是已故父母留下的美丽图腾。

79 岁的宫市使用胶片拍摄，被认为是日本最顶尖的摄影师之一。新书《痕迹》（Traces）记录了她 50 年来精心呈现的拍摄对象。在序言中，宫市写道：“我想象着可以将时间、氛围、声音、气味和记忆——所有肉眼不可见之物——捕捉在照片中。我不知道这些不可见之物是否明显，但我意识到它们潜伏在图像的表面和深度之中。”

在 2000 年至 2005 年间拍摄的《母亲》中，这意味着将家庭之爱与丧亲之痛的无形本质具体化。为了准确传达口红的色调和质感，宫市在职业生涯中首次尝试彩色摄影，进而实现了情感的生动性。正如她在书的后面所注： “我现在拥有的只有母亲留给我的东西。我将它们一件件带到光线下，将它们的影像烙印在照片上，作为对她的告别。”

其结果是一个如此私密的项目，以至于宫市表示，她事后向已故的母亲道歉，因为她展出了内衣等私人物品的照片。但正是这种令人心碎且具体的叙事，使得宫市的大部分作品如此动人。

Tara Joshi

宫市美和：《痕迹》（Ishiuchi Miyako: Traces），由 Thames & Hudson 出版（£50），现已上市

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日程 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 7

大卫·汤姆森 (David Thomson) 电影评论家兼作家，85岁

这位资深电影评论家探讨了为什么特朗普是一个“电影人”，以及电影如何扭曲我们对现实的认知——并损害整个社会

大卫·汤姆森是全球最受尊敬的电影作家之一。他撰写了40多本书，包括具有开创意义的《新电影传记词典》（New Biographical Dictionary of Film），杰夫·戴尔（Geoff Dyer）将其称作“我们这个时代伟大的文学成就”。他出生于英国，后移居美国在新罕布什尔州的达特茅斯学院任教，随后搬到旧金山，至今仍居住在那里。他的最新著作《突然闪现的光芒》（A Sudden Flicker of Light）是一部“电影修正主义历史”，认为电影这一媒介导致我们对现实的掌控力下降，并削弱了我们对人道主义的信念。

当你开始写这本书时，是否打算让它对电影的社会影响如此具有批判性？

不，我没有预料到这种情感会如此强烈。我必须说，我认为这在很大程度上受到了我们总统的刺激，以及我们的文化——我是指美国，尽管这影响了全世界——被告知没有护栏的速度之快。

唐纳德·特朗普在书中挥之不去，尽管直到书的中段才提到他。对他而言，什么样的特质体现了电影的腐蚀性？

我在1967年写的第一本书叫作《电影人》（Movie Man），书中提出了这样一个观点：电影作为一个过程，正在改变我们的行为方式。唐纳德·特朗普在某种意义上是一个“电影人”，我认为除了赚钱之外，他唯一的野心就是让自己处于一部持续上映的电影之中。你观察他时，不能不看到他从电影史上习得的所有东西，以及那种源自镜头前的全部权威感。而当他自己不在镜头前，当他不在打高尔夫球时，他就在看电视。他痴迷于观看屏幕。

你认为电影凭借其“光彩夺目的图像”，起到了混淆我们现实立足点的作用。但这难道不是讲故事的任务吗？

电影是一种大众媒介，触达的人数远多于例如剧院。如果你观看的时间足够长，你就会开始感到一种责任感的缺失，一种无力感。你变成了一个旁观者。电影帮助改变了我们与他人的关系。我认为这是人类感觉自己越来越不那么像人的过程的一部分。

除了赞美电影并警告我们其脱敏效应外，这本书还向文学致敬。写作是你的初恋吗？

很久以前我曾遭受过写作障碍，这是一种非常真实的状态，但我被习惯救赎了。现在我已经到了偶尔可以一天不写的情况。但如果我几乎每天不写点什么，我就会开始生病。是精神上的病，而不是身体上的病。创作的过程使我心境平和。

撰写包含1,400多个条目的《新电影传记词典》是如何影响你的写作的？

这本书是在萨塞克斯郡莫德林的一栋小屋二楼的小房间里写成的，我们当时住在那里。我每周必须完成大约五六个人，这意味着每天一个人。我知道如果我不遵守这个时间表，我就无法完成这本书。所以它产生了一种纪律约束的效果。

书中充满了强烈的观点。在你遇到的电影制作人或演员中，是否有人对你写关于他们的内容感到被冒犯？

在旧金山的一次聚会上，约翰·施莱辛格（John Schlesinger）和我隔室相望，他脸上带着酸溜溜的笑容。他决定一个字也不跟我说。他对我进行了冷处理，我能理解，因为在书页上我也对他进行了“切割”。如果你是一名评论家，认为人们不会批评你，那是很荒谬的。

电视是否已经取代电影，成为动态影像的主导媒介？ 我的电视屏幕，你的电视屏幕；它们其实不再是电视。它们是家中的电影银幕。如果你要撰写一部关于21世纪至今美国电影的历史，如果承担如此艰巨的任务却不承认并讨论像《火线》（The Wire）、《黑道家族》（The Sopranos）、《绝命毒师》（Breaking Bad）、《奥扎克》（Ozark）这样的作品，那将是非常疯狂的。它们需要一种截然不同的关注度或参与感。如果你认真对待动态影像，那么你必须意识到这一点。许多电影评论家——弗朗索瓦·特吕弗、让-吕克·戈达尔、彼得·博格丹诺维奇、保罗·施拉德——后来都成为了电影制作人。你是否也曾心生向往？ 我一直很向往。我在伦敦电影技术学院学习过，在非常基础的层面上，我学习了如何执行某些电影制作任务。我写过几个剧本，其中一部关于《乱世佳人》制作过程的纪录片反响很好。我现在太老了，不适合做这个，但我生命中曾有一段时间，我有电影构思且认识一些导演。我给斯科塞写过一个剧本。他当时不想继续推进，但几年后，他拍了《赌场》，这部电影与那个剧本相关。我绝非在暗示他盗用了我的创意，但那部电影也是关于拉斯维加斯的。我在任何地方都能看到电影的潜力。你住在加利福尼亚州，但是在旧金山而非洛杉矶，而你写过很多关于洛杉矶的内容。这是一个深思熟虑的决定吗？ 我们来到旧金山是因为我妻子在这里找到了工作。我六个小时就能到洛杉矶。这不是物理距离，而是情感距离。我很喜欢洛杉矶，但我有一种感觉，如果我们刚来加州时就去了那里，我不可避免地会成为一名编剧。那么我就不会写这么多书了——也许那样反而更好！你在电影院看到的最后一部伟大的电影是什么？ 我会说[克林特·本特利]的《火车之梦》（Train Dreams）是我看到的最后一部令人惊叹的电影。[约阿希姆·特里尔导演的]《情感价值》（Sentimental Value），我想我在那之前看过。但《火车之梦》是我已经看了三遍的电影。它深深印在我的脑海中，而且它依然拥有一种令我着迷的神秘特质。

大卫·汤姆森的《光之骤闪》（A Sudden Flicker of Light）由 Allen Lane 出版（£25）。可在《观察者报》商店订购，价格为 £22.50（低于建议零售价 10%）。可能产生配送费用。

“我在任何地方都能看到电影的潜力”：大卫·汤姆森。

The New York Times / Redox / eyevins --- 8 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

瑞秋·卡斯克（Rachel Cusk）写了一部新小说《M的生活》（Life of M），书中一名著名演员的存在中断了平凡的现实，同时也被平凡的现实所中断。作为当代最受赞誉的作家之一，卡斯克以将周围的人“代谢”并用于其敏锐、有时甚至残酷的小说而闻名。她的出版商曾将卡斯克 2009 年的回忆录《最后的晚餐》（The Last Supper）的首批印数全部销毁，原因是作者在度假时遇到的一名男子认出了书中对自己的描写，并对该人物塑造表示强烈反对，威胁要提起诽谤诉讼。新书《M的生活》被广泛认为是以奥斯卡获奖演员娜塔莉·波特曼（Natalie Portman）为原型的，波特曼在现实生活中与卡斯克相识。一些轰动的新闻报道引用了据称与卡斯克和波特曼都关系密切的匿名内部人士的话，描述波特曼对这种“背叛”的感受：根据不同内部人士的说法，她要么感到痛苦万分，要么完全不在意。阅读《M的生活》唤起了我的一段记忆。在 2022 年，我不能

瑞秋·卡斯克与真相讲述的界限

作者新小说《M的人生》（Life of M）中的主角与娜塔莉·波特曼惊人地相似。梅根·诺兰探讨其中有多少是真实的——以及这在多大程度上重要。

我不能确定具体是在什么时候，我与卡斯克以及一位著名演员之间发生了一次令人兴奋的邂逅。当时我正坐在伦敦一家私人俱乐部的露台上，我暂时成为了该俱乐部的会员。我希望成为一个不同的人；与那个我在私下里认为自己真实且正确的人不同。不久前，我出版了第一部小说《绝望之举》（Acts of Desperation），并期待它适度但具体的成功能将我转化为一个文明且富有的女人。正如我从小到大经常做的那样，我深信只要足够频繁地执行一套特定的行为，我就能变成一个能够自然而然、无需思考地做出这些行为的人。前任曾告诉我，如果你的财务状况在恶化，有时最好的办法就是表现得稍微奢靡一点，花钱像没有忧虑一样，某种程度上，这种向世界发出的信号会产生效果，让运气眷顾你。这是糟糕的建议，但对我来说却有某种真理的味道，也许是因为它允许我做一些事情，比如在会员俱乐部里为那些平淡无奇的鸡尾酒支付昂贵的费用。

我坐在露台上抽烟，开始阅读卡斯克的小说《过境》（Transit），这是她的“轮廓”三部曲中的第二部。过了一会儿，视线中的阳光被遮挡了，我抬头看到一位身材高挑、美得惊人的女性正对着我微笑。就像我亲眼见过的所有女性名人一样，她不仅有吸引力，而且以一种特殊的、难以捉摸的方式散发着光芒，带着一种甜美且富有的气息。她向我借火。对我来说，看到一位比我年长的美女抽烟总是令人兴奋的。她接过我的火柴，瞥了一眼我正在读的书，抓起书封，用一种新的严肃神情看着我说：“我绝对热爱瑞秋·卡斯克。”

她就是演员娜塔莎·麦克莱恩（Natascha McElhone），我主要通过她在1998年电影《楚门的世界》中的角色认识她，那是我小时候强迫性地反复观看的电影。金·凯瑞在片中饰演一个名叫楚门的人，在他的不经意间，他的整个生活是一场真人秀。他经历的每一个事件都经过策划和设计，旨在取悦那些自他出生起就一直在观看他的观众。麦克莱恩精彩地饰演了一个存在于真实世界（观察者的世界）中的女性，她在楚门生活中的诱人且违规的存在，引导他意识到了自己一直生活在虚假之中。当时我对卡斯克作品的了解还不够深入，以至于这次互动并没有让我觉得特别恰当。我当时主要被震惊于一个我通过各种电视和笔记本电脑观看电影而认识的女人，竟然出现在了我的物质领域中。但现在，当我思考《M的人生》时，我觉得在所有我可能接触到卡斯克小说的途径中，在一位以打破虚假现实而闻名的演员走过来搅乱我的现实时，我恰好在读她的书，这真是一个幸运的转折。

《M的人生》是一部短小且令人振奋的小说，在书中，卡斯克笔下匿名的叙述者向著名演员M提出，她可以为M撰写“自传”。但由第三方撰写的自传又是什么？“她喜欢这个想法。她很豁达，”卡斯克写道。“你会纯粹地编造吗？”这位演员问道。书中关于M生活的场景通常涉及名气的奇异感如何冲击原本平凡的生活，以及这种生存状态中固有的、滑稽的屈辱感。在第一页写道：“我们有几个共同认识的人。其中一个人给我讲了一个关于他们在餐厅参加晚餐的趣事，当时M的保镖坚持要求她与另一位电影明星交换位置，因为对方年纪更大且名气较小，他担心M在餐桌上的位置会让她处于危险之中。”很快，M毫不费力地要求让一个关闭的酒店花园为

冬日花园被要求开启，以便她和叙述者可以坐在其中，而就在几分钟前，叙述者——一个普通人——才被告知那里必须关闭：“这就是人们和事物在她身边表现出的方式，”库斯克（Cusk）写道，“现实变得具有可塑性，总是在让步并改变其规则。”如果 M 的名声被处理得足够模糊，以至于可以是任何一名著名演员，那么这本书将保持其原貌：成为库斯克作品集中的一个极具享受的补充，探讨那些才华横溢且内心矛盾的女性，她们在自己参与创造的世界中并非完全心甘情愿地参与。但现在，它在出版前就成了媒体轰动事件，因为 M 显然至少在部分程度上是以波特曼（Portman）为原型的。她与库斯克有公开的往来。波特曼为她的读书会选择了库斯克的两部小说《第二名》（Second Place）和《游行》（Parade），并分享了两人关于这些小说的录音对话。在《M 的生活》（Life of M）中，叙述者与这位著名演员之间的友谊温暖且互有钦佩，但并不特别亲密——偶尔喝杯咖啡，参加一次团体晚餐——而且 M 还有许多其他朋友。在现实中，除非其中一人决定告诉我们，否则我们无法得知库斯克与波特曼之间“实际”的友谊有多活跃或亲密。上个月，《Unherd》记者瓦莱丽·斯蒂弗斯（Valerie Stivers）写到了波特曼的关联，开头是对这位演员智力的一种奇怪且刻薄的评价。她接着报道称，波特曼“据说”对这本书及其出版感到不快，但并未为这一断言提供任何来源。鉴于波特曼尚未发表评论，斯蒂弗斯大概是基于小说最后几页的内容，在书中，M 在阅读了这部尚未完稿的作品后，让叙述者坐下来。M 第一次表现得生硬且冷漠，表达了她对自己被不准确描绘的不满。但叙述者反驳道：这根本就不是她——作为一名作家，她只是利用某些元素来帮助塑造一个角色。揭露波特曼的关联算不上什么大新闻，因为书中几乎没有尝试掩饰她的身份。事实上，库斯克加入了一些细节，大概就是为了揭示这种联系：“M 告诉我，童年时主演电影立即结束了她的童年，”库斯克写道，随后描述了显然是波特曼在《这个杀手不太冷》（Léon: The Professional）中的角色，该片在演员 13 岁时上映。随后，书中还有同样明显的暗示，提到 M 主演了一部关于芭蕾舞演员的电影（波特曼在达伦·阿伦诺夫斯基的《黑天鹅》中饰演妮娜），以及成为一个美容品牌的代言人（波特曼自 2010 年起就出现在 Disc 的香水和美容广告活动中）。续 10 页 → --- 瑞秋·库斯克（Rachel Cusk）与娜塔莉·波特曼（Natalie Portman，左）讨论她的两部小说《第二名》和《游行》，这是该演员读书会的一部分。Rii Schrom / ex577e. Winstnage for Rogers & Cowan 封面故事 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 9 --- 10 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 封面故事 >>> 虽然构成《M 的生活》的场景和对话大多是安静的，由交谈驱动，但像《好莱坞报道》（Hollywood Reporter）这样的媒体很快就将这部小说呈现为一名著名小说家对一名极负盛名的演员的露骨抨击。这并不是这本书实际所做的，但这不会阻止一些人将其如此呈现。关于波特曼真实生活的有效信息在这里几乎无法获取。相反，库斯克最成功的地方在于想象 M 的想法和私人体验，以及这些体验如何在她为了将世界拒之门外而维持的分层结构中发生。

Cusk 的写作一直被这类结构所驱动。她的回忆录《后果》（Aftermath）和《一生之作》（A Life's Work）讲述了她的离婚经历和为人母的体验，评论界对此反应两极，既有慷慨的赞美，也有激烈的抨击。例如，她以令人不安的坦率写道，她对自己丈夫缺乏事业的厌恶：“我对我丈夫那种没有薪水的家庭生活之厌恶，正如我对母亲那种生活的厌恶一样；而他像她一样，声称对自己的命运感到满足。为什么我会如此厌恶？因为这代表了依赖。”评论家和各种 Moment 用户认为，她以那样的方式描写前夫和孩子，显得冷酷、毫不留情且缺乏人性。（正如我们最终都会经历的那样，她正在承受代际的报应：她的女儿 Albertine Clarke 现在也成了一名小说家）。Cusk 的作品早于并影响了大量关于矛盾母性的写作，而这现在似乎已成为当代文学的一个标准特征。她的虚构小说《轮廓》（Outline）三部曲是对文学版图的一次关键干预，几乎赢得了普遍的赞赏。它拓展了自动小说（autofiction）的可能性并增强了其吸引力。她的长期粉丝还将这部三部曲解读为对那些在她更直接的自传体回忆录中表现出敌意的反应。当我询问我的作家朋友 Jean Garnett（她可能是我认识的最狂热的 Cusk 粉丝）时，她说：“在我看来，她某种程度上被拆解了，然后凭借《轮廓》三部曲从灰烬中重生，我认为这简直不可思议；三部都必须阅读。”这部三部曲讲述了一位名叫 Faye 的作家在离婚后前往写作会议并重建生活的经历，读起来确实像是对那些指责 自恋的人的一种反驳。它在被动性方面毫不妥协，并且如此执拗地记录 Faye 周围人们那些往往微不足道的行为和言语，以至于开始让人感到一种暴力感：“我说，恰恰相反，我开始

《M 的生活》（Life of M）是 的第 13 部小说。Carlotta Cortiana / Camera Press 越来越相信被动性的美德，相信尽可能过一种不受自我意志标记的生活。” 的这三本书对我来说具有催眠作用，尽管这种作用不一定是我喜欢或欣赏的。我曾因此受到挑战，挑战我的是我的朋友 Jean，那个 的死忠粉。为什么我崇拜挪威作家 Karl Ove Knausgård（他最致力于描写家庭琐碎），却无法欣赏 ？这个问题回答起来很简单，尽管并不容易。我之所以如此推崇 Knausgård，部分原因在于他在六部《我的奋斗》（My Struggle）小说中经常让自己显得很可怜。而在我看来， 没有让自己显得可怜。她在每一步都显得绝对，即使在失败时也是如此。然而，当然，男性通常拥有细腻的自嘲这种奢侈，而女性则没有，至少不是以同样的方式。可怜的女性会完全被她的可怜所定义，而敏感男性的伟大，在揭示其可怜之处时反而变得更加迷人。那么，我是在说，我需要 ，需要女性表现得卑微，我才能心平气和地阅读她们吗？如果真是这样，我不喜欢这样的自己。你必须接受那个关于作家心中必须有一枚冰晶的陈旧比喻

I 《M的生活》（Life of M）会让那些仅仅希望看到关于波特曼（Portman）某种揭秘故事的人感到失望，但任何对卡斯克（Cusk）写作感兴趣的人，都会在这里发现她创作项目的一个珍贵的新迭代。我惊讶地发现自己在阅读时会对M产生一种防御心理——尽管媒体报道的基调如此，但我认为她表现为一个总体上讨人喜欢且令人钦佩的人物——这让我对友谊这一领域产生了一种感伤的保护欲，而这种感觉是我在面对婚姻和家庭生活时本能地不具备的。我内心有一种粗鲁的一面，仍然认为婚姻和抚养孩子对于女性来说本质上是糟糕的交易，是我们有权甚至有义务去批评的情况。相反，友谊对我来说是神圣的，它没有性别化的义务，且是以一颗可以自由追求欲望的心所给予的。读这本书时，想到卡斯克此前没有利用名人来探讨这些想法，简直令人震惊。一个人在戳刺现实并发现其不足；现实突然违背其意愿地将一个人淹没。卡斯克这些现有的关注点通过名气这一镜头得到了紧凑且公开的呈现。小说家与名人的困惑很快显得具有可比性。作家有能力在页面上震动并重塑事件，而名人则有能力在现实中做到同样的事；作家无法准确解析存在于其故事用途之外的真相，而名人也有类似的盲点。在书的结尾，我们看到M对叙述者在作品中迄今为止给予她的塑造感到不安，而小说家的回应是：“我不喜欢你塑造我的方式，”她说，“实际上，这很伤人。”“但那不是你，”我说，“也不是任何人。”她冷冷地看着我。正如卡斯克深知的，在任何形式的写作中塑造任何人都是一件冒险的事。你必须不在乎。你必须接受那个陈旧的说法，即作家的心中需要有一片冰晶。或者你可以非常在乎，并且始终与你提及的每一个人核实，无论其是否可被识别。我们大多数作家处于中间地带，深知自己可能永远不够勇敢——或者不够出名——到真正敢于冒风险去疏远我们所爱、所喜欢、甚至只是在周围看到的人。阅读卡斯克或克瑙斯高（Knausgård），阅读任何真正勇敢到敢于全力以赴的作家，就是被提醒，即使是我们这些不够勇敢的作家，无论如何也会被他人投射。在出版我的第一部小说后，有很多人我担心会冒犯到；那些我爱的人，我知道他们会在我写的一些角色中看到自己。确实进行了一些艰难的对话，但事实证明，唯一自信地联系我并宣称在我的作品中看到自己的，是我几乎不记得且肯定没有在写作中涉及的人。一些我从16岁起就没想过的男人，在宣称他们因我基于他们塑造了一个角色而感到一种被挑逗的冒犯，而他们与我的角色之间唯一的共同点就是都是男性且拥有一辆自行车。这几乎很可爱，但同时也令人厌烦且具有冒犯性，并且让我明白，无论我做什么或写什么，人们仍然会将自己带入其中。

去年，我注意到有人编辑了我的维基百科页面，称我的第一部小说是关于一名我曾有过短暂关系的艺术家的。这么做的人并不是那位艺术家本人；他从未像我那样在意我们共同度过的短暂时光。无论是谁做的，我都能看出这次干预来自哪里。几年前，我写过一篇关于那位现实生活中艺术家的散文，虽然我没有点名，但在文中提到了他的身高，以及他在描述某事时经常用纤细、微小的动作在空中抓取。随后我将这种习惯赋予了我小说中那个高个子角色，但书中的角色根本就不是他。我在小说中创造的人与他完全不同。那只是为了让故事成立而虚构的一个家伙。在我们这个过度饱和的文化中，我们比以往任何时候都更愚蠢，因为我们产生了一种可以知晓一切的生活幻象，现在我们以一种诡异的愤世嫉俗态度对待各种文化。我们不断地窥视现存的少数艺术家，检查他们是否不真诚，或者如果我们在他们的作品中发现了熟悉的陈词滥调或可识别的叙事手法，就指责他们懒惰。最令人恼火的是，我们似乎对自己“知道”其艺术作品“真正”在讲述什么过于自信，并将艺术家对其作品“真实”立场的背离作为批评的起点。但我们知道什么呢？卡斯克（Cusk）《轮廓》（Outline）三部曲的主角费伊在一次文学会议上注意到：“我说我不确定观众是否知道我们是谁是否重要。在某种程度上，能被提醒写作过程本质上的匿名性是一件好事，即每个读者在接触你的书时都是一个陌生人，必须被说服才能留下来。”在几乎所有空间中，无法验证真相都是令人恼火的，唯独在文学中除外。在这里，我们仍然可以享受虚构，仍然可以享受现实的渗透性和不稳定性。这就是书籍的部分用途。因此，在试图勾勒像《M的一生》（Life of M）这类书籍中什么是真实的、什么不是真实的这种盲目和无知中，我发现了一种近乎动人的特质；即认为我们可能会在像卡斯克这样一位在没有完全掌控的情况下绝不透露分毫的作家笔下，无意或不慎地看到某些东西。Life of M 由 Faber & Faber 出版（£18.99）。在 observer.co.uk 订购副本价格为 £17.09（10% off RRP）。可能产生配送费用。 --- 采访 observer.co.uk^{}[] 09.08.26 11

玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜（Maria Andreyevna）2024年在莫斯科的无名战士之墓献花。路透社

挑战普京的女人

Åsne Seierstad 采访了玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜（Maria Andreyevna），她是一小群抗议丈夫被动员前往乌克兰作战的俄罗斯女性之一

那件婚纱很简洁，而且非常长，即使她穿着白色厚底鞋踮起脚尖，裙摆依然拖在地上。玛丽亚的体重在 30 到 40 公斤之间，他们两人都认为这很完美。她穿着丝袜时身高 155 厘米，伊万 190 厘米。每一个步伐，以及大多数其他时刻，都诱发着亲吻。就在婚礼前，伊万搬来和她一起住。“我再也受不了我母亲了！”这是被允许的。他们现在是成年人了：她 22 岁，他 21 岁。两人都来自莫斯科；他们在学校相识，她比他高一个年级。她梦想成为一名儿科医生。她热爱孩子。他也一样。在玛丽亚接受医生培训期间，伊万履行了兵役并完成了护理培训。

--- 12 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 采访 >>>

他的目标是成为一名认证按摩师并开设自己的按摩店。玛丽亚成了他的实验对象。她的背部变得柔软，肩膀像果冻一样放松，大腿感到灼热。他参加的课程承诺提供能够提升臀部的塑形巴西按摩。多么美好的婚姻开端！他们决定立即开始要孩子。因为他们想要很多孩子。但她没有怀孕。第一年没有，第二年也没有。八年过去了。他们获得了体外受精（IVF）的机会并被纳入国家配额，这意味着他们可以免费治疗。2021 年 7 月，大约在弗拉基米尔·普京发表关于俄罗斯人和乌克兰人历史统一性的文章的同时，玛丽亚和伊万期待已久的女儿出生了。

当总统下令进攻乌克兰时，莉莉亚（Lilya）才七个月大。玛丽亚谴责了这次入侵。伊万没有发表意见。战争与他无关。他的预约本上排满了想要巴西臀的女性。他接到了征召令。他必须在第二天报到。

“留在家里！”玛丽亚说。 “但如果我的国家需要我呢？”毕竟，他是一名护士。而且他认为自己是一个爱国者。 “你有一个小女儿！”

军队将他定为专家。他无法逃避。他也没有尝试逃避。他就这样离开了。玛丽亚处于震惊之中。

到伊万参战一年时，即 2023 年深秋，玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜已成为“回家之路”（Way Home）莫斯科分部的实际领导人。在我打电话给她时，她的丈夫已经参战近 16 个月。她正准备哄女儿睡觉，我们约定第二天见面，期间由她的母亲照顾这个幼儿。

2024 年 1 月底，在我给她打电话的一周前，玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜开设了自己的 Telegram 频道。她的头像是一块白色的头巾，里面没有脸。头巾上用红色写着：复员（DEMOBILISATION）。在她的第一篇博文中，她描述了俄罗斯军队开进乌克兰时的反应：

“我以为很快就会结束。无法想象其他可能性。但随后一周过去了，两周，三周，然后来了五月的胜利日，然后来了夏天，而……然后来了 9 月 21 日的动员。我不想 dwelling 在我们被灌输的谎言上。我崩溃了。我的哥哥首先被征召。那天晚上我们在电话里聊了聊。我感到了前所未有的恐惧。10 月 12 日，我的丈夫被征召了。无尽的担忧。失眠的夜晚……我认为永远不应该动员平民！应该建立一支由志愿参战士兵组成的合同制军队，且在合同到期时有权不续约。”

半小时后，她又发布了另一篇帖子。

“人们经常责骂我们：你们只是想让自己的男人被换成别人，拿我的邻居去顶替。不！让我告诉你们一个秘密，”她写道，并提供了一个来自 Kreml.ru 的链接。玛丽亚写道，在那里，他们承诺用志愿合同兵来替换被动员的人员。但这并没有实现。克里姆林宫欺骗了妻子和母亲们。链接失效了。四个赞。八点钟，她发布了“回家之路”（Way Home）提交给杜马议员的提案。被动员的士兵服役时间不应超过 1 年。在战争结束前将他们留在前线是违宪的。六个赞。玛丽亚还没有结束。九点钟，她写道：我们可以说“战争”吗？她分享了近期针对使用该词而受到处罚的地方报纸和网站的判决，以及总检察长的声明，并问道：“既然我们在边境和最近被吞并的地区处于紧急状态，除了动员之外，我们现在能直言不讳吗？” 2024. 莫斯科的活动团体“回家之路”成员。Getty Images “而你是谁？你配得上你那位为祖国而战并保卫祖国的丈夫吗？” 三个人用火焰表情符号回应了这条帖子。没有点赞。这一切都发生在她开设个人 Telegram 频道的首日。她站在我面前，穿着月亮靴、石磨牛仔裤和一件彩色填充夹克。个头像个五年级学生。她建议在她家附近的咖啡馆见面，那里距离市中心相当远。“这简直是侮辱！”她点了一壶茶时说道。“普京宣布 2024 年为‘家庭年’。他夺走了我们的男人，现在却要求我们多生孩子！” “回家之路”在圣诞节前夕举行了首次抗议，地点就在权力中心附近，克里姆林宫外一个具有象征意义且神圣不可侵犯的地方：无名战士墓。两侧都部署了仪仗兵。第一周，来了五个女人。接下来的那一周，除了鲜花，妇女们还带来了要求复员的标语。卫兵没有采取行动，但穿着蓝色制服、拿着警棍的男子走上前来。其中两人抓住玛丽亚将她拖走。其他人包围了其余的妇女，将她们驱赶向一辆等待的车辆。在被警察押送离开时，玛丽亚注意到该小组的负责人正通过耳机接收消息。他回答、倾听并确认后，才命令部下放走这些妇女。军嫂们是不可触碰的。到目前为止。她们继续在每个周六中午见面。她们两人一组，戴着白色头巾，手里拿着花，走向火焰。她们变成了 10 人。15 人。20 人。30 人。也就那么几把人，仅此而已。这些女性在社交媒体上被撕裂。其中一名总统的亲信说，她们不是妻子，而是“穿着脏袜子的网络水军”。共产党领导人则说，如果满足她们的要求，纳粹将接管俄罗斯。这种霸凌从互联网蔓延到了国家电视台。当一名被动员者的妻子抱怨她的丈夫在病榻上被直接送回前线时，顶级宣传员弗拉基米尔·索洛维约夫在 Russia-1 频道上嘲讽她。“他在家里能干什么？”索洛维约夫嘲笑道。“还有你！你配得上你那位为祖国而战并保卫祖国的丈夫吗？……你是谁？他允许你那样说话了吗？以他的名义？” “索洛维约夫在羞辱我们，”玛丽亚对我说道，她摇着头，红褐色的马尾在身后摆动。不仅仅是女性——访谈 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 13 受到骚扰。她们的丈夫被威胁将面临速审。有些人被告知，如果她们的妻子不闭嘴，他们将被派往第一线进攻。

大多数女性确实闭了嘴。“她们坐在屁股上领丈夫的工资，”玛丽亚说。“如果我不尽一切努力去阻止在乌克兰展开的这场地狱，我将无法面对镜中的自己。”在在前线服役的16个月里，伊万两次休假。第一次是为了他女儿7月的两岁生日。莉莉亚当时没认出他，但很快他就成了她唯一想在一起的人。他把她——他们期待已久的孩子——扛在肩上，那是她以前从未到达过的高度。随后他又再次离开。伊万接下来的休假是为了玛丽亚10月的33岁生日。“那时我开始害怕了。我的丈夫不再愿意告诉我任何事情。有一天晚上，我醒来发现他不在我身边。我去寻找他。他站在厨房柜台旁，直接对着瓶子喝酒。我们没有烈酒，但因为是我的生日，有一瓶马天尼和两瓶干白葡萄酒。等我走到那里时，只剩下一瓶了。”玛丽亚放慢了语速。“我想，我必须陪在他身边。”她走到柜台旁陪他。“给我也拿个杯子，我们谈谈。然后我们回床上睡觉。”就在那时，他开始分享现在玛丽亚告诉我的那些事。“他们被送来时没有手，没有脚，被撕裂的地方只剩下条状的血肉。截肢，缝合，能救什么救什么？他们处于昏迷状态，无法说话。在他照顾下死去的人太多了。他以前处理的是臀部、大腿和僵硬的肩膀，但现在是死亡，死亡，死亡。每一天如此。他渐渐认识他们，然后下次见到他们时，他们就在死去。我想，至少当他们被送到我丈夫这里时，他们还有一线机会。”除了最远处坐着两名服务员的一张桌子外，咖啡馆里空无一人。玛丽亚看了看手表。她答应过母亲不会久留。我第二天就要启程回家，但计划在一个月后的总统选举时回来。俄罗斯的战争是由伤兵决定胜负的。只要你还能扣动扳机，你就会被送回去。在第二次世界大战期间，10个人中有8个被送回前线。在乌克兰战争期间，这样的统计数据是军事机密。但有一件事是肯定的，你会进入莫斯科的军事医院——这座医院是根据彼得大帝1706年的命令建造的，因为军队仍然需要你。一个月后，伊万来到了这里。玛丽亚每天从城市的西边到东边，前往他的病床前。他住在医院的一个军队不怎么提及的病区：精神科病房。他精神崩溃了。她只知道这么多。他话不多，但他在呼吸，她可以握住他的手。那双手变得更粗糙、更坚硬，布满了切割伤和撕裂伤。他的眼神中闪烁着一丝疯狂，其中夹杂着一种似乎无法治愈的悲痛。医生说，这是冷漠与愤怒。玛丽亚第一次探视回家后，在她的博客上写了两句话：“我们必须记住，没有什么比人的生命更宝贵。个体性是健康社会的基石。”她没有分享她的丈夫已经找到回家的路。他回家了，但不在她身边。他的眼睛看向她的方向，但并没有接纳她。在他好转之前，她不能把莉莉亚带来。他们的女儿在那个夏天三岁了，仍然没能找回父亲离开时丢失的语言。如果她继续参与“回家之路”（Way Home），会对伊万造成伤害吗？他们会伤害他吗？许多人在丈夫回家后停止了抗议，有些人带着改变一生的伤残，有些人躺在棺材里。当她们不再有自己的男人需要拯救时，战斗就结束了。玛丽亚决定继续。一周后，俄罗斯将选出一位新总统。或者更准确地说，是同一位总统。普京最大的两个政治对手，鲍里斯·内姆佐夫和阿列克谢·纳瓦尔尼，已经被清理掉了。前者是在2015年，后者是在几周前。

“回家之路”（The Way Home）给所有候选人都写了信。唯一回应的是前杜马副议长鲍里斯·纳杰日金（Boris Nadezhdin），他希望结束战争并重建与欧洲的联系。“我们和他进行了一次愉快的会面。他倾听并支持我们的诉求，但随后他被禁止参选，”玛丽亚在我们见面的社区咖啡馆里说道。在选举前的一周，在惯例的献花仪式后，玛丽亚和其他几名女性顺道去了——普京在2025年访问莫斯科一家军事医院的伤员；在乌克兰被遗弃的俄罗斯士兵的尸体；安德烈耶夫娜与政治家鲍里斯·纳杰日金的会面。, Adrian Vautier, Niana Holman / Magnum Photos——普京在克里姆林宫附近的竞选总部。她们直接走到柜台前。“普京的竞选宣言中关于动员人员是怎么说的？”其中最年轻的一位问道。柜台后的女人解释说，普京不需要宣言。他只会像以前那样继续下去。但如果这些女性想要，她们可以拿贴纸。她们不想要贴纸。她们想要答案。

有一天下午，当玛丽亚从军事医院回家时，她觉得有人在地铁里跟踪她。第二天，恐惧再次攫住了她。在医院的走廊里，她丈夫的一些病友指着她问：“是她吗？”伊万打发掉了他们。“不，不是她。她只是长得像。”他们是在地铁站等着吗？他们知道她什么时候去医院，什么时候回家吗？他们监听她的电话了吗？他们在关注她的博客吗？她是不是疯了？她的脑海中飞快地闪过伊万如何康复以及之后会发生什么的念头。她内心的一部分希望他留在医院，因为一旦他康复，他们就会把他送回前线。她也不知道该怎么告诉她们的女儿。有时那个女孩会做噩梦，尖叫着醒来。玛丽亚的恐惧和压力是否影响到了这个三岁的孩子？

在玛丽亚感觉到被跟踪几天后，门铃响了。她的母亲去开门。门外站着三个男人。一个穿着警服，另外两个穿着便装。他们说自己来自检察院，要给玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜（Maria Andreyevna）一个警告。“她不在家，”她的母亲回答，“我可以代传话吗？”“不，我们需要亲自递交。”警察后来又来了，递交了警告：关于互联网监测（包括玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜的公开资料），已发现有证据表明，有人计划在3月17日正午于莫斯科投票站举行非法公共活动，其行为特征属于极端主义活动。玛丽亚·安德烈耶夫娜计划参与其中。

她将整份文件发布在她的Telegram博客上。“所以你不能在某个特定时间去投票？民主在哪里？选择自由和表达自由在哪里？你们干脆取消整个选举好了，这样你们就不用担心有人以你们不喜欢的方式或在你们不喜欢的时间投票了？”

接下来的那一周，普京获得了近80%的选票。这是他有史以来最好的选举结果。一场战争和10万,000人死亡让他比上次多出了11个百分点。而现在，每个周五，司法部都会公布一份被标记为敌人的新外国代理人名单。在2025, 5月的最后一个周五，玛丽亚出现在了名单上。这标志着一种限制更多的生活的开始。她现在成了一个与她接触会有危险的人。

七月，莉莉亚四岁了。人们计划庆祝三代女性的生日。莉莉亚、玛丽亚、奶奶，蛋糕和蜡烛。伊万仍在医院里。

在莉莉亚的生日那天，玛丽亚收到了一封来自雇主的信，那是她申请照顾假所在的医院。她打开信封。她的雇佣关系已被终止。这是外国代理人必须遵守的条件之一：他们不能在任何可能影响儿童的地方工作。玛丽亚是一名儿科医生。而现在她被禁职了。

后记：自从我在2025年离开俄罗斯以来，针对民众的限制进一步增加。对于那些抗议的人来说，生活变得更加危险和艰难。许多人失去了工作。如果他们不遵守克里姆林宫的规则，就会面临无休止的审判和罚款。这种情况发生在几名士兵的家属身上。当我告诉玛丽亚她的故事将在《观察者报》上发表，并询问她是否愿意为本页刊登的章节写一段后记时，她写道她觉得无法再增加内容了。这涉及太多风险。“一方面，这是一个很棒的提议；但另一方面，我不知道他们对我监控得有多严。”我永远感激玛丽亚在2024年和2025年冒风险与我见面，向我讲述她的人生故事。在2026年，这似乎已不再可能，但我希望有一天我们能在俄罗斯的一次书籍朗读会上共同演出！本文已由她阅读并批准。

本文节选自安妮·塞耶索（Anne Seiersaud）所著的《绝口不提战争：俄罗斯内部生活》（Never Say War: Life Inside Russia），由Virago出版（1.50）。请在《观察者报》商店订购副本，价格为£27（低于建议零售价10%）。在线订单满£25可享受英国境内标准邮费全免。

--- 14 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 科学与技术 社交网络

约翰·诺顿 (John Naughton)

AI 正在摧毁书籍，以防止聊天机器人被自身的垃圾信息呛死

几个月前，在线书商开始注意到业务量剧增。2022年之前出版的书籍突然成了抢手货。接受 404 Media 网站采访的一位卖家表示，他从一周卖出 20 本书的良好状态，变成了每周卖出数百本。他对这次意外之财感到困惑且略有怀疑。他通常销售的书籍倾向于专业类，且由学校和图书馆购买。而他过去的批量订单往往反映出对某个特定话题的突然兴趣。但最近的大宗订单所涉及的书籍之间几乎没有任何共同点，除了一个：它们都有 ISBN（国际标准书号）——一个唯一的出版标识符。

“这完全没有逻辑，”他说，“而且，买家完全不考虑书的价格。我有些通过这种方式售出的书籍价格被[……]大幅高估了。”

购买这些书籍的人显然对价格不敏感。这是因为这些财大气粗的爱书之人是一家 AI 公司。最可能的收集者是 Anthropic，华尔街认为该公司的估值正接近 100万美元，且在书籍扫描业务方面有先例。早在 2024, 它就聘请了曾参与 Google Books 项目的高管 Tom Turvey，并让他负责“巴拿马计划”（Project Panama）——这是一个旨在“破坏性地扫描世界上所有书籍”的秘密方案。根据一起法庭案件中公开的内部文件，选择这个代号是“因为我们不希望人们知道我们正在从事这项工作”。

那么，什么是“破坏性扫描”？基本上，它既阴险、残暴又迅速。这意味着为了将书籍数字化而将其拆解。你切掉书脊，或使用加热溶剂溶解书籍的装订胶水，将其分离成散页，然后通过高速扫描仪或自动文档馈送器喂入。完成之后，你将纸张制成纸浆或以其他方式处理掉。

对于任何关心书籍的人来说，这可能显得野蛮。毕竟——正如 Google Books 项目所证明的——在不破坏书籍的情况下实现数字化是可能的。但这需要时间和细心，而这两点在科技思维中完全缺失。像 Anthropic 这样的公司正处于匆忙之中，且其胃口巨大。一份日期为 2024 年 10 月的关于“数据获取机会”的内部备忘录称：“我们仍有空间增加对‘巴拿马计划’的投资。世界上约有 4000 万 本书籍可供购买。考虑到我们目前主要围绕价格、出版质量、保密性的购买参数，我们的可服务可获得市场（SOM）约为 $M。迄今为止，我们已购买了 M 本书，还剩下相当可观的约 M 本。”注：“M”代表百万。

这种胃口的背后隐藏着什么？答案是：对“模型崩溃”的恐惧。大语言模型（LLMs）是通过摄取在线上可获得的所有机器可读文本来训练的。但随着它们变得更加普及，这些聊天机器人生成的文本越来越多地重新回到网络上。这意味着新一代的 LLMs 将在包含大量此类 AI 生成输出的数据上进行训练。换句话说，机器最终可能会吸入自己的废气。

即使对于计算机来说，这也不是个好主意，正如已故计算机科学家 Ross Anderson 及其同事在 2023. 指出的那样。他们对“递归诅咒”的研究发现，“在训练中使用模型生成的内容会导致最终模型出现不可逆的缺陷”。

要避开这个诅咒，就必须寻找一些无瑕的、未被 AI 垃圾信息污染的机器可读文本。而除了 2022 年 11 月 ChatGPT 发布后垃圾信息开始喷涌之前出版的书籍，还有什么更好的此类绝佳训练数据来源呢？

毕竟，书籍是积累知识并将其浓缩为经过编辑、符合语法且清晰流畅的散文的最佳典范。当然，它们有一个缺点：缺乏机器可读性。但对于工程师来说，这仅仅是一个技术问题。书籍可以被肢解，其宝贵的数据可以被扫描进AI这座巨大的香肠机中。显然，在这一过程中它们必须被摧毁，这确实令人遗憾。但话又说回来，如果不打破一些感性的人类幻想，就无法迎来一场技术革命。SMS Battles 2026

SMS (Stop MS) Battles 回归

由克莱尔·鲍尔丁（Clare Balding）主持，尽享一个充满魅力、名流嘉宾和激烈竞争的夜晚。在支持 MS Society（多发性硬化症协会）的同时，测试您的知识，为荣誉而战，体验一个非凡之夜。

2026年10月8日，星期四 伦敦 SW1P 2PB, Vincent Square 80号, The Lindley Hall

桌位起售价 £5,500，现正发售！ 欲了解更多详情或回复 RSVP，请联系 specialevents@mssociety.org.uk

已在英国和欧盟监管机构注册 --- 评论家

observer.co.uk 09.08.26 15

建筑 Rouun Moore 论世界其他地区可以从伊朗设计中学到什么，第 20 页

戏剧

《权力的游戏》来到斯特拉特福

相互征战的王朝、比武大赛、巨龙与铁王座。在皇家莎士比亚剧团（RSC）首演之夜前，芭芭拉·艾伦（Barbara Ellen）带我们走进乔治·RR·马丁（George RR Martin）这部奇幻巨作的首部舞台剧幕后，见证它如何震撼登场于莎士比亚的舞台。

能近距离接触铁王座的机会并不多见。但我很幸运，因为《观察者报》获得了独家提前预览的机会，得以了解在斯特拉特福-upon-Avon的皇家莎士比亚剧院上演的《权力的游戏：疯王》（Game Of Thrones: The Mad King）的内部运作情况。这是乔治·RR·马丁关于王朝、命运与巨龙的维斯特洛（Westeros）奇幻传奇的首部舞台剧作品。

这个舞台项目经历了漫长的孕育过程，其起点早于皇家莎士比亚剧团的参与，甚至可以追溯到疫情之前。该剧由邓肯·麦克米伦（Duncan Macmillan）编剧，由阿尔梅达剧院（Almeida Theatre）艺术总监多米尼克·库克（Dominic Cooke）执导。这是一个前传故事，背景设定在第一本《权力的游戏》小说之前10年，处于疯王埃里斯二世·坦格利安（Aerys II Targaryen）的时代。故事聚焦于在七国最大的堡垒哈伦霍尔（Harrenhal）举行的一场盛大的比武大赛（jousting tournament），剧中出现了熟悉的人物和家族（坦格利安、史塔克、兰尼斯特、拜拉席恩），并深入探讨了维斯特洛尚未揭晓的谜团。

庞大的演员阵容包括饰演国王的迈克尔·谢弗（Michael Shaeffer）、饰演艾德（奈德）·史塔克（Iddard (Ned) Stark）的迈克尔·阿布巴卡尔（Michael Abubakar）以及饰演瑟曦·兰尼斯特（Cersei Lannister）的黛西·弗兰克斯（Daisy Franks）。马丁本人被列为创作者和执行制片人。他曾访问过斯特拉特福的剧团，据所有报道，他尤其对军械部门情有独钟。他的博客上有一张他在那里的照片，开心地拿着一把剑，就像被放进了一家中世纪的糖果店一样。

在我前往斯特拉特福之后，也就是本周六首演的一周前，这部门票售罄的戏剧因为一些糟糕的原因登上了头条。第一系列预览演出被推迟。另一场预览演出——在7月25日周六——在开演前仅几小时被取消，并安排了退款。

“维斯特洛权力的传奇之座”：迈克尔·谢弗饰演的埃里斯二世·坦格利安国王，坐在由300多把剑铸成的铁王座上。摄影：Johan Persson

戏剧界出麻烦了？那些支付了旅费和住宿费的人感到很沮丧，粉丝网站上也出现了猜测：是否存在“安全问题”或烟火特效问题？皇家莎士比亚剧团（RSC）表示，做出这一决定是“由于本剧雄心勃勃且具有史诗性质”以及“不可预见的延迟”。然而，随后的预览演出似乎进展顺利，据报道观众起立鼓掌。

在布景设计师克洛伊·拉姆福德（Chloe Lamford，她曾凭借百老汇剧作《推销员之死》获得2026年托尼奖最佳场景设计奖）和制作团队成员的带领下，我参观了繁忙的礼堂——电钻轰鸣，工具叮当作响，电线纵横。拉姆福德在剧院中首次尝试，用一个醒目的十字形结构取代了标准的伸出式舞台。整个场馆经过重新配置，创建了三层沉浸式观众席，并重新布置了入口。确实雄心勃勃且具有史诗感。

在舞台的一端坐着铁王座，那是维斯特洛权力的传奇之座。这是一个令人敬畏的金属建筑，据告知，上面装饰着300多把单独打造的剑，在《权力的游戏》的传说中，这些剑代表了那些在追求至高权力过程中陨落的人。

“这是一座死亡的雕塑，”拉姆福德兴致勃勃地说，“这对我们来说是一个巨大的戏剧时刻。我们想创造一些让人感到威严的东西。”

马丁对王座印象深刻吗？“这是经过乔治认可的。它应该贴个小标签。”

当我询问人们是否被允许坐在上面时，制作经理之一库尔特·摩尔斯（Kurt Moores）笑着说：“我们有一长串想要坐在那里的人在排队。”

制作设计非常复杂，涵盖了从哈伦霍尔和红堡城堡，到湖泊、阳台、战斗和宴会的所有内容。保密工作至关重要。剧组中并非所有人都被允许阅读剧本。

我询问这部剧是否需要与电视剧粉丝的固有印象作斗争，但拉姆福德认为并非如此。“我们是剧场。剧场能做到电视做不到的事。我们是完全不同的媒介。”我被带到了舞台下方——显然，这是第一次有记者进入皇家莎士比亚剧院的地下。这里是负一层，但技术团队为了这次制作，十年来首次挖掘到了负二层。在我面前是一台伸缩升降机，它将用于运输铁王座。第二个有机玻璃升降机里塞着一棵巨树。这感觉像是一场幻觉，但它就在那里，真正的“笑树”，包括树干、树枝和叶子（维斯特洛的资深粉丝会知道关于笑树骑士的故事）。拉姆福德和团队表示，如果他们以前不是《权力的游戏》的粉丝，那么现在成了。他们一直对这个奇幻领域保持敬畏。“每个人都非常小心地坚守这一点，”拉姆福德说。他们表示，马丁的参与很有帮助。“他看过所有的设计，所有的一切，但他允许我们在诠释上拥有真正的自由。”RSC技术与制作总监安娜·福克斯监督了从金属加工、木工到木偶戏的所有环节，一直到为粉丝创建彩蛋以及在马蹄上安装麦克风。“这可能是我们在这里做过的规模最大的制作，”她说。但皇家莎士比亚公司真的应该上演一部《权力的游戏》的剧作吗？就大众吸引力而言，这无需多虑。维斯特洛的巨轮让奇幻类型走向了主流。马丁的《冰与火之歌》七本书系列（其中两本尚在待写）始于1996年的《权力的游戏》——这部剧作标志着该小说的30周年纪念——该书以47种语言售出超过1亿册。HBO将其打造成为一个大热的电视特许经营系列：《权力的游戏》在2011年至2019年间播出（大结局有1930 万人观看）；前传《龙之家族》（背景设定在约200年前）刚刚结束第三季；基于马丁的《邓克与蛋的故事》中篇小说的《七国骑士》于1月播出。此类项目产生的收入--- 16 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 评论员

戏剧 >>>

在陷入困境的剧院界，任何一场演出都不可轻视（2025年，皇家莎士比亚公司（RSC）宣布计划裁员11%）。但上演这样一部作品有着更深层的文化原因。众所周知，马丁深受莎士比亚——尤其是历史剧——以及“玫瑰战争”的影响。在宣布这部剧时，显然非常兴奋的作者表示，RSC是“显而易见的选择”，而莎士比亚则是“不断的灵感来源”。在与共同艺术总监塔玛拉·哈维（Tamara Harvey）和丹尼尔·埃文斯（Daniel Evans）的通话中，哈维告诉我“各方都感到很兴奋”。RSC迅速向其核心观众保证，《权力的游戏：疯王》（Game of Thrones: The Mad King）将保留莎士比亚式制作的质量、细节和“史诗般的气势”。哈维并不担心涉足奇幻题材本身：“我们的莎士比亚观众已经习惯了巨大的想象力飞跃。我们刚刚上演了由肯·布拉纳（Ken Branagh）主演的《暴风雨》，那部剧就充满了天马行空的幻想。”她还指出了RSC对非莎翁作品和文学改编剧的排演：“自1964年以来，新剧作在RSC一直与莎士比亚作品并肩而行。我们讨论的事情之一就是，寻找具有‘大肺活量’（气势磅礴）的作家和故事至关重要，而这部作品的气势已经足够大了。”

皇家莎士比亚剧院经过了彻底的重新构思，采用了十字形舞台，用于举办比武大赛。 摄影：Johan Persson

“你不是在独自观看奈飞——你是在一个拥有数百人的房间里。这是一种凝聚”

埃文斯补充道：“当你思考历史剧的伟大主题——继承、权力的转移、权力的交接、权力的终结、家族内部的血腥斗争——这部剧充满了这些主题。”这也提供了一个接触新观众的机会：埃文斯告诉我，《疯王》的持票者中有57%是RSC的新观众。“我们一直希望扩展我们能够从事的工作类型以及我们能够触及的观众群体。”《权力的游戏》中有大量的性与暴力——我注意到该剧组配备了一名亲密戏指导——不过，正如哈维所说，这些元素对于莎士比亚作品同样关键。

“如果观众期待壮观的打斗，他们将会看到，”埃文斯说，“如果观众期待浪漫，他们也将看到。”观众还将看到巨龙，尽管该剧设定在喷火龙灭绝的时期——且不希望激怒维斯特洛的资深学者（相信我，他们确实存在）——因此剧组强调，巨龙的出现方式不会，可以说，破坏原著设定。“我是这部剧集的粉丝，”埃文斯说，“我得声明这一点。当你看到那些巨龙出现，口中喷出火焰时，那是极其震撼的。”

委婉地说，马丁并不总是与他作品的改编者和谐相处。最近，他公开且激烈地抱怨自己在《龙之家族》的制作过程中被边缘化。埃文斯表示，马丁对剧院团队“非常尊重”，反之亦然，从服装到选角的所有决定都由作者把关。埃文斯补充道：“维斯特洛是他的创造，我们希望尊重这一点。”哈维说：“剧本是邓肯（Duncan）写的，但这次协作是非常真诚的。”当我提到将《疯王》搬上舞台所经历的漫长过程时，哈维说：“任何史诗级的戏剧体验都是如此，无论是音乐剧还是包含如此多元素的戏剧。在真正‘熟透’之前，你绝不会想把它呈献给观众。”

在我于斯特拉特福（Stratford）期间，我清楚地意识到为了这次演出付出了多少艰辛的“烹饪”工作：从十字形舞台和伸缩升降机等技术奇迹，到珠宝上的印记以及真实踩踏出的泥土，福克斯（Fox）将其描述为“传统工艺与现代技术的绝妙融合”。我被带去参观军械库，特别是那个在马丁（Martin）访问期间令他着迷的“利刃”部门。部门主管艾伦·史密斯（Alan Smith）指出了马丁曾拿着一把剑蹲在的那个角落。他还透露，为了罗伯特·拜拉席昂（Robert Baratheon）在维斯特洛（Westeros）那场历史性的反叛，专门打造了一把“战锤”，并让我翻看各种中世纪风格的匕首、盾牌和头盔。当我问兰福德（Lamford）关于她对《疯狂之王》（The Mad King）的构想，以及她希望观众在离开剧院时有怎样的感受时，她回答道：“兴奋！感受到与角色之间强有力的连接。我希望人们能被触动，就像你成为了某种事物的一部分。你不是在独自观看奈飞（Netflix）——你身处一个有数百人的房间里。你们共同见证了某些事情，共同经历了它，产生了一种凝聚感。这太美妙了。”

《权力的游戏：疯狂之王》（Game of Thrones: The Mad King）在斯特拉特福-upon-Avon的皇家莎士比亚剧院上演，直到9月5日

剧场短评 # 我的血色情人节 莎拉·凯恩这部关于受折磨的情侣的阴森恐怖剧，提出了关于人类苦难的重要问题，但却让你精疲力竭，无法给出答案 凯瑟琳·考尔斯 (Katherine Cowles)

《净化》（Cleansed）伦敦阿尔梅达剧院（Almeida Theatre, London N1）；展至8月29日

期待宣泄是没有用的。在肢体残缺、殴打、肛门强奸以及上吊自杀之后；在眼球被针刺穿、舌头被剪刀剪掉之后。莎拉·凯恩（Sarah Kane）1998年的剧作——《净化》（Cleansed）——其标题承诺了一场洗涤，但如果期待它，我们就是傻瓜：心智是一间酷刑室，其中的执念阴森且不依不饶。在这一系列尖叫和恐怖意象中，丽贝卡·弗雷克纳尔（Rebecca Frecknall）大胆制作中最令人震惊的启示是那一簇簇水仙花——一张鲜黄色的地毯——像希望一样从舞台下方破土而出。而最终杀死你的，正是这种希望。

我们可以争论这种震惊战术的使用，但何必呢？这部作品的设计如此露骨，旨在测试剧场意象的极限，以至于其中一个角色的四肢被全部砍掉。没有人会将凯恩那令人惊骇的噩梦误认为现实主义——其扭曲的快感在于试图弄清楚它想表达关于人类痛苦现实的什么。剧情（如果这些碎片化的事件能构成剧情的话）涉及两对情侣——一对兄妹和两名年轻的男同性恋者——他们被爱情以及一个虐待狂施暴者廷克（Tinker）所折磨。廷克使他们残疾并让他们蒙羞，而他自己则被可悲的爱所削弱，对着一名脱衣舞女郎自慰。

窥淫癖、悲恸、浪漫的拒绝、自杀的绝望——这一切都在这里，争夺着关注。他们构建的故事是绝望的，但并非毁灭性的。在某种程度上，今天最引人注目且令人困惑的是对性别焦虑的处理：格蕾丝（Grace，由珀尔·钱达饰演，她是痛苦的化身）在为哥哥格雷厄姆（Graham）哀悼时，试图通过在身体上变成他来重新找回他：穿着他的衣服，使用男性代词，最终在廷克的刀下接受性别重置手术。格蕾丝最终被绷带缠绕且血迹斑斑：这是惩罚还是愿望的实现？两者是否还存在区别？

《净化》是一次挑衅，但需要一位优秀的导演才能让它在今天依然具有挑衅感。弗雷克纳尔（曾执导《歌舞厅》、《欲望号街车》）拥有艺术家的构图之眼和舞者的肢体词汇——这两者都是处理凯恩那著名的、极难执行的导演指示所必需的（如“他抓住卡尔的手臂并砍掉他的双手”；“卡尔正被一群看不见的男人猛烈殴打”）。她通过写实的演绎（这里一个绞刑架，那里一喷血迹）和暗示相结合来实现：卡尔遭受的袭击可能是通过舞蹈呈现，或者像酷刑窥视秀一样被遮挡在屏幕后面。

这部作品像一部砍杀电影一样尖叫——看起来也像。玛德琳·格林（Madeleine Girling）将凯恩的大学校园变成了一个阴暗且模糊的办公室兼——“残疾与蒙羞”：利奥·比尔饰演廷克，卢克·辛克-怀特饰演卡尔，在《净化》中。——马克·布伦纳（Marc Brenner）式的精神病院：天花板瓷砖，刺眼的顶灯，墙上抹着血手印，一条孤独的走廊——以便更好地将你困住。其他恐怖的点缀包括利奥·比尔饰演的廷克，他留着稀疏的胡须，戴着方框眼镜，动机可疑，是一个典型的郊区怪物；以及将Kinks乐队的歌曲《Days》泵入酷刑室，仿佛是塔伦蒂诺执导的关塔那摩。当演员们——全程无畏且投入——在痛苦中哀嚎、呜咽和尖叫时，歌曲吟唱着：“你夺走了我的生命。”

凯恩（于1999年自杀，享年28岁）曾说，《净化》的灵感来自罗兰·巴特（Roland Barthes）的断言，即在爱情中心碎就像是在达豪集中营当囚犯——这是另一次挑衅。而这部剧的动力似乎更多在于权力游戏，一种对控制权的争夺。剧作家选取了四个完全无助的角色，并通过他们，将观众击打至精疲力竭地屈服。结果是沉重的。阿尔梅达剧院邀请我们在演出结束后在观众席中花时间解压。我建议逃到最近的冷水淋浴间。然后睡觉。

苏珊娜·克拉普（Susannah Clapp）下周回归

评论家 音乐 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 17 # 访谈

“我们的禁欲系大师其实到处乱搞” 随着一部新的关于 James 乐队的纪录片揭露该乐队不为人知的历史和摇滚反叛行径，米兰达·索耶（Miranda Sawyer）与主唱蒂姆·布斯（Tim Booth）探讨了精神信仰、戒瘾，以及在那个疯狂年代，甚至连 Prodigy 乐队都被告知要与他们保持距离的往事。

摇滚乐建立在神话之上，而这些神话通常是在实时创造的。反叛行为在发生时就被媒体报道：乐队变得臭名昭著，狂野的名声被不断喂养。过度行为变成了传奇。成立于 1982 年曼彻斯特的 James 乐队并非如此。他们以热门单曲《Sit Down》、《Laid》和《She’s a Star》、抢眼的乐队 T 恤、主唱蒂姆·布斯有趣的舞步以及与其他北方主唱相比缺乏的粗鲁气质而闻名，James 经常显得与其他独立团体不同。不同，但并不更狂野。关于他们的奇怪传闻四起。他们是否参与了邪教？是否发生过肢体冲突？一部名为《James: Getting Away With It》的新纪录片（将在电影院上映，并配有流媒体采访和乐队演出）似乎将改变该乐队的形象。或者，至少揭示他们的真实面貌。

深受赞赏的导演克里斯·阿特金斯（Chris Atkins）——曾执导《英国独立党：前 100 天》（Ukip: The First 100 Days）和《谁杀了 KLF？》（Who Killed The KLF?）——将当代素材与乐队不为人知的历史交织在一起。这是一个相当惊人的故事。

“我只看了一次这部纪录片，我觉得很令人不安，”布斯在一次来自葡萄牙的 Zoom 通话中说道。光头，修剪整齐的山羊胡，粉色背心：与众不同。“它唤起了一些相当痛苦的回忆。对我以及吉米 [格伦尼（Jimmy Glennie），贝斯手] 来说，拍摄这部片子很艰难。我们两人从未向人们提起过 James 乐队的一个时期。对于大多数乐队来说，这会成为他们的标志性形象，但我们想要保护成员，所以我们团结起来，从未谈论过这件事。”

“那是 1997 年，当时乐队的派对行为失控到了极点，在一次包括 Korn、Tool、Tricky 和

‘将这支迥异的乐队团结在一起的是对当下力量的深信’，上图为蒂姆·布斯在 2024 年格拉斯顿伯里音乐节上的演出，右图为 1990 年在舞台上的样子。Redherns / Getty Snoop Dogg 在内的 Lollapalooza 音乐节演出名单中，Prodigy 乐队被明确告知要避开 James 的休息室。”

“一个坏影响，”布斯微笑着说。太狂野了。太多的胡作非为，包括把一辆高尔夫球车撞上舞台，以及被挥舞枪支的安保人员追赶。布斯本人并没有参与这场疯狂——他不能参与，因为长期的健康问题。而这正是他在观看电影时感到痛苦的地方，他想起了在所有人彻夜狂欢时，自己保持清醒的孤独感。

那是一段艰难的时期。乐队难以与 Lollapalooza 的粉丝建立联系，因为那些粉丝大多是为了看硬核演出而来的。James 的旋律被认为不够阳刚，他们遭到了起哄。于是他们穿上了裙子——索尔·戴维斯（Saul Davies）穿上了高跟鞋，在腿上写了“Fuck”和“Me”，然后大摇大摆地走上台演奏小提琴。

“我只看了一次这部电影，我觉得很令人不安，”布斯说。“它唤起了一些相当痛苦的回忆。”

——而且布斯走进了观众席，直接对着那些强悍的家伙唱歌，直视他们的眼睛。他们屈服了。

“我热爱那样做，”他说。“它教会了我永远不要害怕观众。走到人们面前直接对着他们唱歌，观察他们的反应。拥有一个亲密的时刻。”

自 20 世纪 80 年代后期以来，该乐队一直由七人组成——现在是九人——其背景和训练的差异被深入探讨。格伦尼是曼彻斯特的工人阶级；布斯来自西约克郡，曾在什鲁斯伯里的公立学校寄宿，生活得很痛苦。格伦尼和布斯是自学成才的音乐家（布斯在评价自己的能力时说“简单、未经训练、原始”）；吉他手艾德里安·奥克萨尔（Adrian Oxal）曾是一名大提琴神童，而多乐器演奏者戴维斯曾是斯特灵青年管弦乐团的团长。

在 20 世纪 80 年代中期，从一开始就加入 James 乐队的 Booth 和 Glennie 都参与了一个由 John Yarr 经营的名为 Lifewave 的邪教。Lifewave 在常见的混乱中崩溃了——“我们的禁欲古鲁到处乱搞”——但 Booth 和 Glennie 延续了其中的冥想练习。Booth 说，Glennie “一次能冥想七个小时”。Booth 本人则将他的冥想转化为舞蹈，教授了数百堂引导人们进行肢体活动的课程。“我们通过这种方式进入改变意识的状态，”他说。你感觉到，正是这样的练习让他和 Glennie 保持了活力。James 乐队的其他成员并不冥想。将这群迥异的人凝聚在一起的是对“当下”力量的深信，以及对音乐自由与自发性的共同热爱。他们通过长时间的自由即兴演奏来创作歌曲：他们与 Brian Eno 合作了五张专辑，在电影中，Eno 表示：“我从未真正见过有人能即兴创作出完整的歌曲。他们最大的优势就是这种充满喜悦的、即兴的混乱。”然而，这也会导致冲突。电影向我们展示了 Booth 在一扇写着“请勿打扰”的门后熟睡，而此时距离乐队登台仅剩片刻。这本没关系，但问题是歌曲顺序尚未确定，没人知道他们将演奏什么。在另一场重要的演出中，曲目单更改了七次，Davies 最终拿到了错误的名单。Chris Martin 出现在电影中，对 James 能够创造一个让粉丝沉浸其中的世界感到欣喜。贯穿始终的是一种强烈的感觉，即 James 作为一个乐队，拥有自己的引力和自旋。他们吸引的粉丝越来越多，并在 2024 年推出了首张在英国获得 No 1 冠军的专辑《Yummy》。“我们的演出规模更大了。而且我们不再拥有青春的美貌特权，所以必须靠音乐来吸引观众，”Booth 说。“每次现场演出，我们都希望创造一种超然的体验。因此我们每晚都会更换曲目，因为这是一次现场的沟通。前几天我们在波尔图面对 2.5万,000 人演出，在演出中途，我转身意识到，‘下一首歌行不通。我们失去了那边那些观众。让我们用《She’s a Star》或者一首能提醒我们团结的歌曲把他们拉回来。’百分之九十的乐队演出都是剧场表演，但我们不是。我们根据当下做出反应，这一切都如此有趣。”《James: Getting Away With It》将于 17 August 在全国电影院上映，随后将直播乐队采访和现场表演。Tim Booth 本周将参加 Talk ’90s to Me 播客 --- 18 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 评论 电影 “这是一本什么都没发生，却又发生了一切的书”：新人 Emily Matthews 和 Glenn Close 出演《夏日之书》（The Summer Book）。Rocana Rossi / Canic films 本周电影推荐

云隙之光

格伦·克洛斯主演的这部电影优雅地改编了图芙·扬松的故事，讲述了一个家庭在芬兰一座荒野且饱经风霜的岛屿上度夏，并从悲痛中走出的经历。

温迪·艾德 (Wendy Ide) 《夏日之书》(The Summer Book)（95 分钟，PG级） 导演：查理·麦克道尔 (Charlie McDowell)；主演：艾米莉·马修斯 (Emily Matthews)、格伦·克洛斯 (Glenn Close)、安德斯·丹尼尔森·利 (Anders Danielsen Lie)

图芙·扬松的《夏日之书》之所以成为深受喜爱的作品，其独特的处理方式似乎让这部篇幅短小、风格优雅且精炼的小说极其不适合改编成电影。查理·麦克道尔这部安静的改编作品最令人惊叹的温柔之处，就在于它在电影中保留了原著中如此之多的克制。

《夏日之书》是这位出生于芬兰的作者最成功的一部成人小说，而她最广为人知的身份是儿童经典系列《姆明》的创作者。扬松讲述了一个关于女儿、父亲和祖母在芬兰湾一座荒芜小岛上度过夏天，同时哀悼孩子母亲之死的故事，文字简练纯粹，具有晶莹剔透的细腻感。这是一本书，其中既没有发生任何事，又发生了一切；独立的章节拒绝了传统的叙事线索。这就像是在翻找一个孩子从海岸线上收集的宝藏盒。

在电影这种倾向于推进式向前发展的媒介中，如何呼应这种马赛克式的结构？在倾向于直接展示痛苦而非委婉暗示的银幕上，又如何捕捉原著中那种内在的、不煽情的对悲痛的处理方式？

这部低调但动人的电影之所以成功，归功于扬松原著中的核心元素：自然世界。由罗伯特·琼斯 (Robert Jones) 编写的剧本比小说更直白地处理母亲的离世，但当人们难以用语言表达情感时，电影让自然代之以言。

在遇到人类之前，我们先见到了这座岛。岛屿被海冰环绕，在积雪沉沉的阴郁云层下蜷缩着，带着它那紧闭的、摇摇欲坠的小屋和纤细的幼苗，在冬日的变幻面前显得如此脆弱。但随后夏天到来了，岛屿及其居民从黑暗中走出。绿色的地毯和五彩缤纷的野花取代了单色调。而配乐——钢琴与木管乐器之间起伏、盘旋的舞曲——唤起了一种新生命和新可能性的感觉。

一家人乘小船抵达。索菲亚（由新人艾米莉·马修斯饰演）在对假期的期待中，带着孩子特有的兴奋冲出船舱。而对于她的父亲（始终令人印象深刻的挪威演员安德斯·丹尼尔森·利）和祖母（宁静的格伦·克洛斯）来说，这座岛触发的痛苦回忆则是更沉重的负担。

走进温馨的小屋，父亲的目光被他亡妻留下的帽子吸引，那是为了一个从未实现的夏天而留下的。

--- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 19 “低调而动人，这部电影在人们难以用语言表达情感时，让自然代之以言”

他紧紧抓着帽子，不愿放下，也不确定该如何处理。洞察一切的祖母将它放在一个看不见的地方，与所有其他难以忍受的丧亲提醒放在一起。

这座岛及其环境在时间上都是模糊的。原著写于 1972 年，索菲亚的喇叭裤似乎将时间定格在同一时期。但那种由蜡烛和煤油灯照明的生活方式，以及经过无数代人塑造的仲夏仪式，可能来自几十年前。

摄像机经常采用低角度拍摄，地衣高度的镜头捕捉着每个角色以自己的方式进行探索。索菲亚有着像涉禽一样瘦削的双腿，自信地跨过崎岖且未知的地形。祖母在不平整的岸边行走时脚掌平贴地面，更加谨慎，她使用结实的拐杖来保持平衡，并将走位的苔藓团拨回原处。而父亲则显得心不在焉，即使当他在书桌前辛苦地绘制书籍插图时也是如此。他将悲伤倾注在一棵树上——一棵为了纪念妻子而种下的、看起来毫无生机的杨树幼苗，他试图引导它重新焕发生机。

这部电影并没有太多波折。一场风暴——索菲亚曾希望它能缓解一段令人烦躁的无聊时光——提供了一次短暂的危机。与附近岛屿新邻居的一次邂逅提醒人们，并非每个人在这片珍贵的土地上都生活得如此轻盈。一只新养的宠物猫对成为索菲亚渴望的挚爱伴侣毫无兴趣。渐渐地，父亲从自己的悲痛中走出来，帮助女儿度过她的悲痛。睿智的祖母接受了自己生命的最后一个季节即将结束的事实。而波罗的海那灿烂的光芒再次冷却成冬日。

更多推荐... 文 / 温迪·艾德 (Wendy Ide)

维基·克里普斯 (Vicky Krieps) 在监护权争夺电影《温柔地爱我》(Love Me Tender) 中饰演克莱门斯 (Clémence)。下方为奈飞 (Netflix) “难以捉摸”的真实犯罪特写片《我的孩子》(A Child of My Own) 中的安娜·塞莱斯特 (Ana Celeste)。《温柔地爱我》 / 奈飞

《温柔地爱我》(Love Me Tender) (134 分钟, 15)

导演：安娜·卡泽纳夫·坎贝尔 (Anna Cazenave Camber)；主演：维基·克里普斯 (Vicky Krieps)、安托万·雷纳茨 (Antoine Reinartz)、莫妮亚·肖克里 (Monia Chokri)

当我们第一次见到克莱门斯（由维基·克里普斯饰演，她像一只 prowling 的狮子般充满攻击性）时，她已经摧毁了自己的中产阶级生活。此前，她是一名律师，是洛朗 (Laurent, 安托万·雷纳茨 饰) 的妻子，也是一个幼子的母亲。她抛弃了这一切，包括巴黎的公寓和经济保障，以追求自己的真相。现在，她撰写坦率且具有对抗性的自传体小说，骑着摩托车，住在廉价的一居室破房里。而且最近，她开始与女性交往。有些是严肃的关系；更多的是热烈且匿名的。在此之前，克莱门斯与洛朗的关系一直很友好。但一旦她向他出柜，战争就爆发了。而他们住在父亲家中的八岁儿子，成了洛朗首选的武器。

这部电影改编自康斯坦斯·德布雷 (Constance Debré) 的自传体小说，导演安娜·卡泽纳夫·坎贝尔以坦率的笔触记录了克莱门斯与家庭法院之间卡夫卡式的斗争，洛朗在其中争取单独监护权，并主张她的性取向使其不适合担任母亲。克里普斯在这一棘手且具有磨损性的角色中表现出色。该角色在所有事情上——从游泳、性生活到她那相当自命不凡的写作——所展现出的专注自律，在冷酷镜头近距离的审视下，几乎在不经意间产生了裂痕。

《我的孩子》(A Child of My Own) (96 分钟, 15)

导演：迈特·阿尔伯迪 (Maite Alberdi)；主演：安娜·塞莱斯特 (Ana Celeste)、阿曼多·埃斯皮蒂亚 (Armando Espitia)、安赫莱斯·克鲁兹 (Ángeles Cruz)

曾两度获得奥斯卡奖提名的智利纪录片导演迈特·阿尔伯迪（《鼹鼠特工》、《永恒的记忆》）审视了一个非同寻常的真实案例：墨西哥女性埃莱奥诺尔·亚历山德拉·马林·门多萨 (Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza) 令人信服地伪造了整个怀孕过程。当分娩时间到来时，她从自己工作的医院产房里抢走了一个婴儿。当警察逮捕她时，她的主张是母亲同意将孩子交给她；而婴儿的父母否认了这一点，证据也支持父母。心理评估表明，至少在某种程度上，亚历山德拉真心相信自己的谎言，但即便如此，也无法完全解释她的谎言之网为何能如此牢固且持久地维持。这是一部引人入胜的真实犯罪特写片，但电影制作中一种难以捉摸、闪烁其词的特质使其打了折扣，这种特质将笨拙且相当具有操纵性的戏剧性重现与对真实当事人的采访结合在一起。该片将于 13 August 起在奈飞 (Netflix) 上线。

“克里普斯在这一棘手且具有磨损性的角色中表现出色，在冷酷镜头近距离的审视下，几乎在不经意间产生了裂痕”

《布什拉》（Bouchra）（82 分钟，15 级）导演：奥里安·巴基（Orian Barki）、梅里姆·本纳尼（Meriem Bennani）；配音：梅里姆·本纳尼、阿里亚娜·费伊·艾伦斯沃思（Ariana Faye Allensworth）、伊托·巴拉达（Yto Barrada）

布什拉是一位居住在纽约的摩洛哥女同性恋电影制作人，她正陷入困境：她正试图走出最近的一次分手，并与创作瓶颈作斗争。此外，她与远在卡萨布兰卡的母亲之间的关系也令人头疼，后者无法或不愿讨论女儿的性取向。布什拉意识到，前进的方法是通过电话与母亲对质，并利用由此产生的电话对话。

让这段本就小众的内心剖析显得与众不同的是，虽然剧本基于联合导演梅里姆·本纳尼与其母亲之间的真实聊天记录，但所有角色都被呈现为计算机动画动物。布什拉和她的家人是郊狼；她的前女友看起来像是一头鹿或一头牛（坦白说，很难分辨，而且更难弄清楚这一特定创意决定背后的逻辑）。尽管如此，这个半超现实的项目——电影制作人奥里安·巴基和视觉艺术家本纳尼的首部长片，也是首部摩洛哥长篇动画电影——至少是一部大胆且具有原创性的作品。

--- 20 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 评论家 # 建筑

现代性的前沿

尽管受到战争、制裁和政权限制的影响，伊朗的建筑师们仍在打造能够响应气候与文化的尖端建筑，为世界其他地区提供了借鉴。

Rowan Moore

世界上有一个国家，其建筑艺术处于极高的创新和想象力水平。在那里，传统知识与数字技术相结合，利用简朴的砖块、阴影与光线、风与微风，以及室内外的互动，创造出神奇的效果。这些项目是世界其他地区可以学习的典范。特别是，它们展示了如何解决针对炎热天气设计的关键问题。它们还展示了如何在人口稠密的城市中建造文明的住宅。

这个国家就是伊朗。其建筑师和建造者的成就，既是在政府限制、制裁以及如今一场战争（这场战争除其他影响外，还破坏了德黑兰的古列斯坦宫等世界遗产地和历史建筑）的压力下取得的，也是对这些限制做出的回应。

“我们被迫在困难的条件下进行设计，”总部位于德黑兰的 FMZD 事务所的法尔沙德·梅赫迪扎德（Farshad Mehdizadeh）表示，“而正是这些条件成为了我们最伟大的建筑学校。”

伊朗建筑的美图——不仅在德黑兰，而且在全国各地的城市中——已成为一种安静的社交媒体现象。最专注的发布者之一是悉尼新南威尔士大学的建筑学教授菲利普·奥尔德菲尔德（Philip Oldfield），对他而言，这显示了“对气候和文化的清晰响应”。他告诉我，他一直在寻找“全球哪里在做最好的中层住宅……这种‘缺失的中间地带’挑战了这样一种观点，即你要么选择上海式的摩天大楼模式，要么选择郊区模式，而两者之间毫无过渡”。他补充道：“我没预料到伊朗会成为世界领先者。”

那里一种广泛的建筑类型是公寓楼，高度约为六层，建在伊朗城市中常见的狭小填充地块上，奥尔德菲尔德说这“赋予了人性化的尺度”。它们可以被视为英国智库 Create Streets 所称的“温和密度”（gentle density）的范例，这意味着在有效利用土地提供住房的同时，增强其所在区域的品质。

这些住宅建筑通常在立面上设有深陷的阳台，而非悬挑阳台，并利用遮光屏和挑檐来创造阴影和通风。这些阳台利用数千年之久的自然技术帮助建筑保持凉爽。它们创造了在炎热气候中表现良好的遮蔽户外空间——德黑兰的夏季气温经常升至 30 摄氏度中旬，而该国其他地区则可达 60 摄氏度。

梅赫迪扎德表示，重要的是要打破开发商的预期，即建筑师的工作不过是将建筑外观装饰得引人注目。 “（客户）经常说的第一句话是：‘你能帮我们设计一个立面吗？’对我来说，这个问题将建筑简化为了一个纯粹的二维问题，我认为这是一个真正的悲剧。”他说，建筑应该“产生于生活、流动、关系、光线、空间、功能以及建筑内部所有互动的重叠之中”。

梅赫迪扎德和其他建筑师在建筑的外向面创造了深邃的空间，由这些内凹的阳台、凸进与后退的窗间墙、花架和露台组成，既保证了向外的视野又兼顾了私密性，并将家庭的私人生活与室外街道的公共生活连接起来。他表示，这样做解决了伊朗建筑师面临的另一个限制：缺乏能够丰富城市生活的公共项目委托。他们的绝大部分工作集中在私人住宅建筑上，但这些项目的复杂实践使他们能够为建筑地块之外的世界做出贡献。

正如奥尔德菲尔德（Oldfield）所指出的，伊朗建筑师还“喜欢将一种建筑材料运用到极致”，他将这种方法与英国、澳大利亚及其他国家倾向于创造包含“过多饰面”的“拼凑之作”进行了对比，并认为前者更胜一筹。例如，在克尔曼（Kerman）的市中心，MA Office 的建筑师设计了一栋住宅楼，其立面采用了竹子——这种材料恰好生长在工地对面。竹子既构成了实心面板，也构成了可让光线透过的百叶窗，使得建筑在不同时间呈现出半透明或不透明的状态。他们最喜欢使用在伊朗有着悠久历史的砖块。建筑师利用奥尔德菲尔德称之为“超人”的技巧，在砖造建筑中营造出令人眼花缭乱的情绪和质感。建筑工人和建筑师像雕刻堡垒一样雕琢砖墙，或者像折纸一样将其折叠。他们将砖墙打孔，使其成为屏风和面纱。他们像织物一样为其设计图案，并制作出由凹陷和凸起组成的浅浮雕，通过增加墙上的阴影量来帮助调节温度。他们创造了一种模糊感：同一种材料在不同时间可能显得沉重或轻盈，或者一面实墙和一个开启的百叶窗在第一眼看上去可能完全一样。例如，建筑师侯赛因·亚兹迪（Hussein Yazdi）和马苏德·阿贝迪（Massoud Abedi）设计了一栋公寓楼，其立面被弯曲成壁龛，而另一栋则由一系列交错的区块组成，呈现出阳光照射的实面、阴影空隙和穿孔屏风相间模式。达武德·贝万德（Davood Behvand）和梅迪·卡伊米（Mehdi Qaimi）在伊斯法罕（Isfahan）设计了一栋公寓楼，其中的砖块以短端向外固定，使其看起来像在竖起刚毛。Abar Office 在东北部的马什哈德（Mashhad）设计了一栋住宅楼，其墙壁被模塑成近乎装饰艺术（art deco）的形状。由胡曼·巴拉扎德（Hooman Balazadeh）创立并领导的 Hooba Design Group 因在德黑兰的一栋建筑而获得国际认可，该建筑为 --- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 21

古典

从顶部起顺时针方向依次为：Hooba设计的Kohan Cream；赤陶色的Hitra Office；FMZD设计的Darrous Terraces；以及仍在建设中的Pardis Technology Park的效果图。这些建筑均位于德黑兰。Hooba design / Patham / FMZD Projects

“伊朗建筑中蕴含着一种艺术感和愉悦感，这在英国类似的建筑类型中很难找到。”

Kohan Ceram砖业公司，将办公室、公寓和展厅结合在一起。在这里，他们使用了客户的产品，围绕现有的混凝土结构创建了一座赤陶色的塔楼，其稳固程度犹如城堡，足以抵御前方繁忙的快速路。与此同时，塔楼被重复的圆形开口贯穿，部分开放，部分安装玻璃，使光线和空气能够进入内部。夜晚从内部点亮时，这座巨大的结构仿佛消融了。

Hooba展现了许多伊朗建筑师典型的多样性，他们还在德黑兰设计了Hitra办公商业大楼，其设计更具动态感和趣味性，采用了 sweeping horizontals（ sweeping 水平线）和轻微凸出的层级。一层由砖块组成的“第二层皮肤”，其开口由绿松石色油漆点缀，被放置在内部玻璃幕墙之前，这种布局在提供遮荫的同时，保证了开阔的视野。

当代伊朗建筑看起来很现代。有时可以看到已故建筑师扎哈·哈迪德（Zaha Hadid）等国际建筑师的影响。其中很大一部分是在计算机的帮助下实现的。与此同时，它借鉴了Balazadeh所称的“嵌入在传统建筑中的智慧”，其中“包含了关于气候、光线、材料、比例和环境性能的卓越知识”。他的灵感来源包括能提供“渐进式探索体验”的庭院住宅。

他说，促使当前伊朗建筑丰富多样因素包括“强大的建筑学院”和“卓越的工匠”。但与Mehdizadeh一样，他也认为“限制往往成为创造力的催化剂”。在伊朗一段时间以来所处的环境下，“国际合作变得更加困难，获取技术和金融系统的渠道变得更加复杂，经济的不确定性改变了客户的优先级。”但建筑师们通过使用无需进口的材料（如砖块和竹子）来应对。

出于显而易见的原因，在撰写本文期间无法访问该国以探索其政治和经济背景。但有充足的证据表明，伊朗建筑中存在一种艺术感和愉悦感，这在英国类似的建筑类型中很难找到。在战争带来的诸多毁灭性影响中，建筑事务所的困境并非最严重的，但军事袭击依然增加了难度。

“在冲突期间，我们的办公室不得不暂时关闭，”Balazadeh说，“但建筑仍在继续。或许速度慢了一些。”

菲利普·格拉斯之梦

演员兼导演Phelim McDermott写给这位美国作曲家的情书既机智又动人，是一场真正的剧场奇迹

Fiona Maddocks

格拉斯之道

伦敦 W1, Soho Place；展至9月12日

《费加罗的婚礼》

牛津施瓦茨曼中心；巡演至9月27日

20世纪80年代曼彻斯特的一间卧室。演员兼导演——这两个词不足以形容他；不如称之为“贪婪的生命力”——菲利姆·麦克德莫特（Phelim McDermott）正瘫在地上，痴迷地听着一张黑胶唱片。他的家人几乎无法忍受在地板上回荡的循环重复之声。那是菲利普·格拉斯（Philip Glass）的《玻璃制品》（Glassworks，1982年），这张专辑真正确立了这位作曲家的公众形象，并为他赢得了狂热的追随者。少年时期的麦克德莫特便爱上了这位美国极简主义作曲家兼钢琴家的作品。近半个世纪过去了，麦克德莫特依然沉浸在那种令人陶醉的迷恋中。尽管期间有过分心——转向《我的邻居托托罗》、莫扎特和威尔第的歌剧，以及莎士比亚的戏剧——但格拉斯的音乐塑造了这位导演的成年生活。

通过他的Improbable剧团，麦克德莫特将格拉斯的歌剧转化为剧场奇迹。在英国国家歌剧院（ENO）及国际舞台上上演的《Abhunen》、《真理力量》（Satyagraha）和《完美的美国》（The Perfect America）令粉丝们着迷，并让格拉斯的反对者转而成为信徒。明年6月，他将在曼彻斯特的Aviva Studios为英国国家歌剧院执导《海滩上的爱因斯坦》（Einstein on the Beach）。这些歌剧的一个挑战在于，长时间内几乎没有太多情节发生。麦克德莫特用肢体剧的魔力来匹配格拉斯自身的音乐冒险。杂耍、木偶戏、挥手、撕扯、粘贴纸片，听起来可能像闹剧。但事实绝非如此。缓慢的精准与美感，一卷无尽的亮色布料的展开，两个人之间难以察觉的靠近，都具有其自身的迷人强度。音乐与剧场合而为一。

《玻璃之道》（Tao of Glass）在伦敦首演，于Soho Place以圆形舞台呈现，是麦克德莫特写给剧场和格拉斯的一封情书。该剧于2019年在曼彻斯特国际艺术节首次亮相。不出所料，它是一部混合体。麦克德莫特在演出开始时静静地坐在前排观众席。他在舞台上大多是独处。木偶师操纵着一个迷人的小男孩木偶，但他们的许多动作如此隐蔽且灵巧，以至于几乎不被察觉。他们共同帮助麦克德莫特创造出幻想与混乱，而这些元素突然地、神奇地、片段式地转化为完美的视觉和谐。

麦克德莫特在节目单的注释中以一种迷人且平淡的理所当然地表示——就像许多Improbable的演出一样——这部剧并非由传统的叙事驱动。创意团队共有17人，包括音乐总监克里斯·瓦塔拉罗（Chris Vatalaro）、设计师弗莱·戴维斯（Fly Davis）、灯光师科林·格伦费尔（Colin Grenfell），以及与麦克德莫特共同执导的克斯蒂·豪斯利（Kirsty Housley），剧本由麦克德莫特编写。一个由小提琴、钢琴和单簧管为主的小乐队演奏了14首格拉斯的曲目（节目单中列出了名称，但曲目之间几乎无缝衔接）。它既幽默又动人。单凭麦克德莫特的耐力就足以让这场演出变得非凡，但这远不止是一个人的能量结果。大约两小时后，恰如其分地，是音乐在冥想般的收尾中将我们带回终点。

位于牛津的施瓦茨曼人文中心（Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities）——以美国亿万富翁、黑石集团首席执行官斯蒂芬·施瓦茨曼（Stephen Schwarzman）命名，他捐赠了创纪录的1890 万英镑——于去年10月向学生开放，目前正逐步建立其文化项目，该项目将与目前入驻该中心的七个人文学院及相关研究所共同运行。

上周，小型巡演公司 Wild Arts 将其紧凑且令人振奋的莫扎特歌剧《费加罗的婚礼》搬到了施瓦茨曼中心，进行了一场售罄的演出。该剧由丹妮尔·德·尼斯（Danielle de Niese）执导，奥兰多·乔普林（Orlando Jopling）在键盘前指挥。这是该中心举办的第一场歌剧，效果几乎不能更完美。由艾莉·尼特（Ellie Neate，饰演苏珊娜）和杰克·桑迪森（Jack Sandison，饰演费加罗）领衔的卓越演员阵容，以及一支由 10 人组成的精英乐队，呈现了我所见过的最令人愉悦的《费加罗》演出之一。Wild Arts 让我对歌剧的未来感到乐观。 --- 22 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 评论员

流行文化

本周艺术家

心碎之声

威尔士音乐人凯特·勒邦（Cate Le Bon）将她那部不落俗套的分手专辑带到了伦敦的当代艺术学院（ICA），在那里她证明了自己不仅是“艺术家的艺术家”，更是英国最具多才多艺的创意工作者之一。

Kitty Empire

凯特·勒邦（Cate Le Bon） 当代艺术学院，伦敦，SW1

威尔士音乐人兼制作人凯特·勒邦的着装显然不是为了应对热浪。在 ICA 那个如同汗蒸房般的现场音乐空间里，勒邦穿着一件紧身的白色褶皱长袖连衣裙，给人一种模糊的“木乃伊新娘”之感。一个塑料头饰完成了这套造型——或者说暗示了某种神职身份。她此前曾穿着锁子甲巡演，像个艺术流行版的圣女贞德，并在 2022 年专辑《Pompeti》的封面上穿上修女服；即便在如此酷热的环境下，看到她依然坚持佩戴抢眼的头饰和穿着不舒服的装束——坚持按照自己的意愿呈现艺术——依然令人印象深刻。

勒邦是一位难以被简单定义的人，今晚她从最近的三张专辑中汲取素材——每张专辑都截然不同，但都出自同一个不断演进的创作之声。她的作品跨度极大，包括像《Mother's Mother's Magazines》（出自 2019 年的《Reward》）这样带有吠叫感的后朋克律动，像《Harbour》（出自《Pompeti》）这样古怪的加州游艇流行乐，以及出自她 2025 年最新专辑《Michelangelo Dying》中《Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)》那种令人心碎的合成器摇滚滑行。20 世纪 80 年代似乎是她的音乐精神故乡——至少是那个年代中空灵的艺术摇滚部分，而非那个时代更粗犷的标志。她并不试图解释自己的作品；仅用优雅的手势在空中勾勒形状。

勒邦并非家喻户晓的名字，但她是英国最具多才多艺的创意工作者之一；一个异类，她在十年前搬到了娱乐巨兽的腹地——洛杉矶附近的约书亚树沙漠——以推进她的事业，并且曾花了一年时间学习家具制作以克服创作瓶颈。爱尔兰流行星 CMAT 自 2022 年起就一直赞美她，加入到将勒邦视为英国艺术学院传统中作者主义者的赞美之声中（尽管她本人并未就读艺术学院）。她是一位“音乐人的音乐人”，也是一个点子极多的人。除了个人和合作专辑，勒邦还为知名度更高的艺术家担任制作人，例如美国吉他英雄 Wilco、前卫流行星 St Vincent，以及最近为我们自己的后朋克印象派乐队 Dry Cleaning 制作，加入了这个规模虽小但日益壮大的、接管音乐生产手段的女性姐妹会。

勒邦目前的演出以伊沃·卡特勒（Ivor Cutler）的吟诵诗《Women of the World》开场，在这首诗中，已故的苏格兰诗人——通过歌手琳达·赫斯特（Linda Hirst）之口——敦促道：“世界上的女性，接管一切吧 / 因为如果你不这么做，世界将会终结。”

勒邦目前仍在巡演《Michelangelo Dying》，这是她最直白的一部作品集。其概念过于熟悉：这些歌曲是为了回应她与音乐人蒂姆·普雷斯利（Tim Presley，又名 White Fence，两人曾组成双人组 Drinks）长期关系的结束，以及她从加州返回威尔士而创作的。独特之处在于勒邦应对心碎的特殊方式，以及在意识到事物并非如你曾经所见，并重新审视它们时，所面对的那种令人不安的冲击。

“她并不试图解释自己的作品；仅用优雅的手势在空中勾勒形状”：凯特·勒邦在伦敦 ICA 演出。 摄影：Sophia Evans，为《观察者报》拍摄

在她不落俗套的声音世界里，乐器的表现往往出乎意料。以由尤安·欣谢尔伍德（Euan Hinshelwood）演奏的萨克斯管为例。次中音萨克斯拥有最容易被识别的特征之一：一种像其材质黄铜一样光亮的音色。但在勒邦（Le Bon）的作品中，贯穿始终的萨克斯音调则是一种盘旋的存在，承载着各种效果，经常扮演着吉他或希腊合唱团的角色——叹息、哭泣、做出反应。偶尔，出人意料的木琴或手风琴会响起。她的听觉完全是不随大流的，并以此开辟出自己的听觉领域。这并不是说她的歌曲没有情感冲击力。《Moderation》或许是勒邦写过的最接近直白流行金曲的作品。“我想哭，我快疯了 / 试图弄清楚这一切，”她唱道。这首歌甚至没有收录在令人心碎的《Michelangelo Dying》中，那张专辑在对一个选择“将我们的爱抽烟抽尽”的人愤怒地咆哮，并权衡所有失去的一切。在《Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)》中她唱道：“我想到了你的母亲，我希望她知道我爱她。”到了返场环节，欣谢尔伍德已经脱到只剩背心，而勒邦则在揭晓另一首来自平行宇宙的潜行热门曲目。《Ride》像钟摆一样在自我安抚（“没关系”）与接受自己正骑在人生中一次颠簸的牛仔竞技赛之间摆动：“这是一场骑行。”《Ride》正等待着被发掘，并被转化为一段关于不尽如人意的Uber行程的TikTok热门视频——这是一种让这位前卫天才获得她应得关注的迂回方式。--- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 23

其他专辑

Pure Devotion Overmono (XL Recordings) 复古锐舞（retro rave）运动几乎没有放缓的迹象。Overmono 在 2023 年推出的首张正规专辑《Good Lies》，将来自威尔士的 Tom 和 Ed Russell 兄弟二人组与 Bicep 一起推向了新舞曲艺人的浪潮之巅，他们巧妙地重新演绎了 20 世纪 90 年代那种忧郁的回响与喧嚣。如果说有什么变化的话，《Pure Devotion》走得更复古。其中一名兄弟送给另一名兄弟一台 1979 年的 Roland SH-2 合成器作为礼物；两人决定将其道格玛（Dogme）式的局限性作为下一张唱片的基础。在《Lazbrook》或这张专辑的亮点之作《Knight in Shining Prada》中，可以听到大量温暖的模拟震颤声。当诗人 John Joseph Holt 回忆起他已故的兄弟时，这首曲子听起来就像是 Orbital 为 Daft Punk 制作的混音版，且有 the Streets 客串。或许《Pure Devotion》中过多的一些曲目让女性歌手（无论是现场录制还是采样）在议论低劣的爱情。相比之下，那些较难听懂的碰撞则更为强劲，例如《Lockup》中奇怪的轰鸣声，以及《Gem Lingo (our now)》中带有静电感的自发性感觉经络反应（ASMR），再加上《Slowmotion》中扭曲的电子音与 Overmono 熟稔舞池的动态结合。Russell 兄弟深入钻研其制作过程，甚至将一个镲片放在由咖啡渣、薯片和醋组成的干腌料中烘烤。这些实验的结果较难分辨，但这张唱片手工打造、真挚动人的感觉令人信服。 Kitty Empire

Therapy at the Club Flo (EMI) 在 2024 年首张正规专辑展现的坚实潜力基础上，英国女子组合 Flo 的第 2 张专辑提供了一系列令人陶醉的流行和 R&B 作品，充满了酒精般的宣泄感和轻如蝉翼的声部和谐。尽管她们尚未完全突破到顶级流行巨星的水平，但由 Jorja Douglas、Renée Downer 和 Stella Quaresma 组成的三人组在模仿 Destiny's Child、Toni Braxton、Christina Aguilera、Jessie J 甚至 Nicki Minaj 那种自信的流行说唱时，显得对自身及其叙事能力更加自信。像现在的许多女子组合一样，Flo 沉溺于怀旧。但她们的怀旧是通过一个痴迷手机的视角折射出来的：有采样了 Skepta 的电话亭之作《Call Me》；有恳请将最火辣照片发布到网上的《Leak It》；而 Technotronic 的《Pump Up the Jam》在气势磅礴的《Pose》中变成了“为相机摆姿势”（Pose for the cam）。在这种自信中有一种昂首阔步的 exuberance，并偶尔穿插着温柔的脆弱；90 年代的迷幻感渗透在关于心碎、友谊以及在前任身边处于亢奋状态时的焦虑之歌中。虽然有些歌词显得笨拙（如“不想太戏剧化，但一切感觉都很戏剧化”），且一些体育场风格的抒情曲（如《Floating》）显得乏味，但凭借那丝滑的嗓音和俏皮的感官魅力，Flo 兑现了她们的明星潜力。 Tara Joshi

Cannonball Man / Woman / Chainsaw (Fiction Records) Man / Woman / Chainsaw 出身于南伦敦的 Windmill 场景——也就是孕育了 Black Country, New Road、Squid 和 Black Midi 的同一个世界——并在过去几年中将他们的现场表演精炼成了一组值得录制成唱片的曲目。这支六人组合在青少年时期成立，开发出了一种将后朋克（post-punk）的无序感与对流行乐的深厚喜爱相结合的声音。《Cannonball》传达了在无休止的演出巡演中那种不安的能量。但在小提琴、合成器和变换的人声爆发之下，是一种强烈的诚实感。专辑的差异感显得是有意为之，从《Snakelite》的爵士触感，到《Get Up and Dance》阴森的铺垫。充满快感的、由合成器驱动的单曲《Nosedive》最明显地倾向于流行风格，它使用一只受伤鸟类寻找庇护所的意象，来探讨自由与安全之间的紧张关系。

正是那些最安静的时刻，让《Cannonball》揭示出其最深层的情感牵引。《Lighter》将一切精简，贝斯手兼主唱 Vera Leppänen 反复吟唱着“我将肌肤交付于你，我欠你一切，我将肌肤交付于你。我会给你一切”，其亲密感令人心惊。结尾曲目《Something Else to Give》留下了一个挥之不去的问题：当你已经将如此多的自我交付出去后，还剩下什么？

Georgia Evans

《Monk Movements / Monk Meditations》 Jon Batiste (Verve)

钢琴家 Thelonious 那种张开手掌、带有布鲁斯风格的演奏方式，是爵士乐中最具辨识度的风格之一。凭借对古怪旋律和深沉摇摆节奏的敏锐触觉， 常被模仿，但极少被超越。然而，在最新的个人双专辑中，钢琴家 Jon Batiste 承担起了让 焕发新生的任务，在《 Movements》中将他的作品重新构思为精湛的钢琴曲，而在《 Meditations》中则将其转化为氛围式的内省之作。

前一张专辑中的歌曲充满了活力，在《Blue 》等曲目中，Batiste 在演奏强有力的线条时发出的欢快惊叹声清晰可见；而在《Swan's Back In Town》中，他穿梭于和弦变换之间，营造出一种愉悦的氛围。Batiste 全程忠实于 原始的旋律和节奏感，使这张唱片成为一次得体且循规蹈矩的模仿之作。

不过，在《 Meditations》中，他找到了令人动容的新领域。Batiste 倾向于利用音符之间巧妙的留白，将节奏大幅放慢，以挖掘《Reflections》中忧郁的情绪；而《Midnight Movement》是对《'Round Midnight》的一次惆怅演绎，《's Mood》则用一连串破碎的泛音点缀了原曲。Batiste 在这里证明了自己不仅是 的忠实学生，更是其合格的继承者。

Ammar Kalia

舞蹈 # 业内顶尖 皇家芭蕾舞团光彩夺目的首席舞者与回归的古巴之星上演了两场演出，展现了他们共同的喜悦感与戏剧张力 莎拉·克伦普顿 (Sarah Crompton) 玛丽安妮拉：永恒；卡洛斯·阿科斯塔：神话与现代大师 伦敦 WC2，皇家歌剧院 玛丽安妮拉·努涅斯 (Marianeela Núñez) 和卡洛斯·阿科斯塔 (Carlos Acosta) 是皇家芭蕾舞团最璀璨的两颗明星。她加入舞团时年仅 16 岁，28 年后的今天，她是舞团最卓越且光彩夺目的首席舞者。他也在同年加入，于 2016 年从古典演出中退休，如今 53 岁的他担任着两家舞团的艺术总监：伯明翰皇家芭蕾舞团 (BRB) 和阿科斯塔舞蹈团 (Acosta Danza)。在过去两周观看他们各自呈现的舞蹈节目后，你会注意到他们的共同特质：精湛的古典主义技巧、本能的戏剧感，以及——最重要的是——慷慨。他们都热爱舞蹈，并张开双臂将其分享给尽可能广泛的观众。努涅斯的节目 《永恒》(Timeless) 简直令人惊叹：这不仅是一封写给芭蕾舞的情书，也是写给她视为家园的舞团的情书。演出以杰罗姆·罗宾斯 (Jerome Robbins) 的《在深夜》(In the Night) 开场，编舞者将惊人的情感浓缩其中，通过三对不同舞伴的细腻舞步来表达。在肖邦夜曲的伴奏下，演出始于瓦迪姆·蒙塔吉罗夫 (Vadim Muntagirov) 和金根子 (Fumi Kaneko) 之间融情至深的浪漫，双臂在交替的弧线中轻盈地追随；随后转入马亚拉·马格里 (Mayara Magri) 和卢卡斯·B·布兰德斯罗德 (Lukas B Brændsrod) 抒情的爱意。最后，努涅斯本人与马修·鲍尔 (Matthew Ball) 出场，演绎一段关于误解与原谅的激情双人舞，充满了飒爽的离场与登场。这一切似有若无，却美极了。随后，在一段选材精良且舞姿优美的双人舞组合中，努涅斯与蒙塔吉罗夫共同表演了《海盗》(Le Corsaire)，展现了令人目眩的精湛舞技；接着是巴兰钦编排的阳光明媚的柴可夫斯基《双人舞》(Pas de Deux)，她与帕特里西奥·雷韦 (Patricio Revé) 将鱼跃和快速旋转演绎得像刷牙一样轻松。最后，是阿什顿 (Ashton) 的单幕正剧《玛格丽特与阿曼》(Marguerite and Armand)，努涅斯饰演患肺结核的交际花，威廉·布雷斯韦尔 (William Bracewell) 饰演她热烈的情人。他们那充满高难度托举和紧紧拥抱的双人舞既有格调又饱含深情。布雷斯韦尔在努涅斯身上发现了一些东西：平静之下的痛苦。整个节目是一场盛宴。在《神话与现代大师》(Myths and Modern Masters) 中，阿科斯塔回归他最喜爱的舞台，首演的是何塞·利蒙 (José Limón) 笔下线条分明的《摩尔人的帕克苏内》(The Moor's Paxune)，这是一部将莎士比亚的《奥赛罗》高度浓缩并配以珀塞尔音乐的精致作品。该作首次演出于 1949 年，它以一系列庄重的变奏形式呈现，致命的情感隐藏在礼貌之下，而奥赛罗这个角色完美契合了阿科斯塔将每一个舞步塑造为思想与意图表达的能力。玛丽安妮拉·努涅斯饰演玛格丽特，威廉·布雷斯韦尔饰演阿曼，演出《玛丽安妮拉：永恒》 ©2026 Maria-Helena Buckley。马克斯·马斯伦 (Max Maslen) 饰演一个冷酷的伊阿古，而比阿特丽斯·帕尔马 (Beatrice Parma) 饰演的德斯德莫娜和水谷美纪 (Miki Mizutani) 饰演的艾米莉亚则以目的明确的优雅舞动。节目的其余部分则评价不一。《哈瓦那胡桃夹子》(Nutcracker in Havana) 套曲感觉脱离了原有的根基，但确实提供了感人的快感，因为人们能看到阿科斯塔与他 14 岁的女儿阿拉·阿科斯塔·霍兰德 (Alla Acosta Holland) 同台演出，后者上次出现在这个舞台还是 2015 年，在父亲最后一次皇家芭蕾舞团演出后向他献花。此外，瓦加诺娃 (Vaganova) 那种老派的《狄安娜与阿克泰翁》(Diana and Actaeon) 双人舞给了古巴 BRB 舞者瓦西尔·霍德林·贝洛 (Vasiel Hodelin Bello) 和凯瑟琳·奥乔亚 (Katherine Ochoa) 一个令人兴奋的展示机会；由贝亚特丽斯·加西亚 (Beatriz Garcia) 和劳尔·雷诺索 (Raúl Reinoso) 创作的《我们》(Nosotros) 是阿科斯塔与阿米萨代·纳拉 (Amisaday Naara) 的一段忧郁组合；而克里斯托弗·布鲁斯 (Christopher Bruce) 根据滚石乐队歌曲创作的《罗斯特》(Rosster) 则让阿科斯塔舞蹈团的才子们有机会在老板身边大显身手。结束时阿科斯塔灿烂的笑容表明，这次演出是多么有趣。

--- 24 # 书籍 历史

一场罗马悲剧

西塞罗在共和国时期政治权力的极速攀升，与其迅速且暴力的陨落相匹配。伊迪丝·霍尔（Edith Hall）在评述这部节奏快且极具可读性的传记时写道：

《演说家：西塞罗的一生与罗马帝国的终结》（Orator: The Life of Cicero and the End of the Roman Empire） 作者：凯瑟琳·爱德华兹（Catharine Edwards） 出版社：Hutchinson Heinemann 价格：£30，页数：464页

西塞罗是一位极具天赋的非贵族，直接参与了古代历史上一些最动荡的事件。他的生命故事包括公元前63年的一段短暂时期，当时他担任罗马共和国的最高行政官，被尊为“国父”；但故事最终以他被残酷谋杀而告终——这是根据马克·安东尼（Mark Antony）的命令执行的，安东尼要求将西塞罗的手和被斩下的头颅展示在罗马广场的演讲台上。

西塞罗留给后世的作品比任何其他罗马共和国时期的作者都要丰富，包括法律和政治演说，以及关于伦理学、修辞学、政治学和神学的论文，此外还有近900封写给朋友、家人、盟友和政治敌人的私人信件。这庞大文集中的大部分内容直接关乎他本人，而几乎所有内容都间接关乎他。

西塞罗于公元前106年出生在罗马东南方向意大利中部山区的阿尔皮努姆（Arpinum）一个富裕的骑士阶层家庭，并非出身元老院世家。他作为演说家的卓越天赋以及对法律无与伦比的掌控力（在罗马、雅典和罗得岛学习哲学和修辞学之后），使他能够如此迅速地崛起，尤其是在他成功起诉盖乌斯·维雷斯（Gaius Verres）在担任西西里岛总督期间的腐败和罪行之后。

西塞罗沿着行政官的职业阶梯攀升，先后被任命为财务官（quaestor）、市政官（aedile）、法务官（praetor），并最终在公元前63年担任执政官（consul）。当他以执政官身份揭露由卡提林（Catiline）领导的推翻罗马共和国的阴谋时，他的名望达到了顶峰；卡提林是一个不满的贵族，其支持者包括贫困的退伍军人。西塞罗在激烈的《反卡提林演说》中谴责了卡提林，其中包含那句被多次引用的话：“卡提林，你究竟还要滥用我们的耐心到什么时候？”卡提林随后逃亡，并在次年的战斗中丧生。

作为一名天生的保守主义者和共和国传统制度的坚定捍卫者，西塞罗试图反对庞培（Pompey）、凯撒（Caesar）以及后来的安东尼崛起所带来的专制威胁。公元前58年被流放令他心碎，但当他在一年后被召回时，他陷入了派系之间不停且恶毒的重新洗牌之中。

在尤利乌斯·凯撒被刺杀后，西塞罗自任马克·安东尼的首席批评者，在元老院和公众集会上发表了猛烈的抨击演说——《腓力比演说》（Philippics）。之所以如此命名，是为了纪念他从希腊演说家德摩斯梯尼（Demosthenes）反对扩张主义马其顿君主腓力二世的政论中获得的灵感。一旦第二次三头政治联盟形成，安东尼便要求处决西塞罗。

自从佛罗伦萨历史学家莱昂纳多·布鲁尼（Leonardo Bruni）撰写《新西塞罗》（Cicero Novus，其本身严重依赖于普鲁塔克的古代《西塞罗传》），以及彼特拉克（Petrarch）写给这位古代演说家亡灵的两封情感充沛的信件以来，关于西塞罗的传记至少已有上百部；这两部作品均在15世纪70年代死后出版。它们将西塞罗提升到了文艺复兴人文主义美德的英雄典范地位。

仅在21世纪，就已经出版了至少13部关于西塞罗生活的研究。当我得知伯克贝克学院（Birkbeck）的古典学与古代史教授凯瑟琳·爱德华兹正在撰写另一部传记时，我问自己，世界是否真的还需要它。但她成功地提出了许多真正新颖的观点，且表达得如此出色，以至于对我那个问题的回答必须是响亮的肯定。

迄今为止，在普通读者中获得最广泛国际影响力的传记是安东尼·埃弗里特（Anthony Everitt）所著的《西塞罗：罗马最伟大政治家的生平与时代》（Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician，2004）。这部快节奏且具有小说色彩的叙事作品令人兴奋且极易阅读，但它对西塞罗的塑造过于片面，将其描绘成一名捍卫自由的原则性发言人，并为了守护一个崩溃中的共和国而死于一场悲剧。而在另一个极端，安德鲁·林托特（Andrew Lintott）的《作为证据的西塞罗：历史学家的指南》（Cicero As Evidence: A Historian's Companion，2008）则晦涩得令人望而却步，且对西塞罗缺陷的批评如此之深，以至于抹杀了其作为人的复杂性。爱德华兹（Edwards）的成功之处在于，即使是对古罗马不熟悉的读者，她也能用平易近人的散文提供一个清晰的故事，同时细腻地揭示西塞罗在自我塑造中复杂的细微差别，以及有时显而易见的自我欺骗。在剖析其心理发展方面，她的书像罗伯特·哈里斯（Robert Harris）著名的西塞罗小说三部曲——《权力》（Imperium）、《五年任期》（Lustrum）和《独裁者》（Dictator）一样令人兴奋且极具娱乐性，但从学术角度来看，《演说家》（Orator）同样严谨且完全可靠。她保持了主线叙事的灵动与简洁，同时提供了精美的全彩插图、实用的地图、尾注中精确的来源引用，以及一份带注释的延伸阅读指南。爱德华兹对复杂现象解释的清晰度展现了她数十年的课堂教学经验；她深知读者在理解管理罗马行省所涉及的政治要求以及管理和财务任务时会面临挑战，因此耐心地引导我们了解西塞罗在西西里担任财务官（入门级行政官）的成长经历，以及后来在基利基亚担任普罗执政官的时期。她优美地唤起了他对于——

本周 dubstep 的根源 Ammar Kalia 评述 Lauren Martin 对这一电子音乐子类型的沉浸式且权威的历史记录 《单身女性食谱》(The Spinster Cookbook) Daisy Lynch 细品 Eli Davies 这本讲述其独自烹饪冒险的治愈系读物

书籍 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 25 苏西·登特 (Susie Dent) 这位《倒计时》(Countdown) 节目的文字专家揭晓了她的夏季阅读清单，并谈到了她的新小说《大写之死》(Death Writ Large)。在东方，远离罗马，征收税款并与帕提亚进行外交活动，而此时凯撒与庞培之间的紧张局势正在升级。在出色的章节“与凯撒达成妥协”和“三月十五日”中，紧凑的历史叙事以坚实的文献基础和宽广的镜头视角，迷人地重述了西塞罗一生中一些最壮观的事件，使读者能够专注于拥有庞大角色阵容和突然剧情转折的戏剧性场景。同样的情况也适用于她对西塞罗自身凄惨死亡场景的克制描述。但爱德华兹 (Edwards) 是古典学术界一个罕见的人物。自从她开创性的首部专著《古罗马的不朽政治》(The Politics of Immortality in Ancient Rome) (1993) 出版以来，她的著作涵盖了文化光谱中广泛的拉丁语体裁。本书的许多优点源于她对古代哲学、修辞理论、文学和图像学以及历史文献的熟练掌控。她一些最出色的文字则平和得多，解释了西塞罗对希腊哲学的沉浸——他将柏拉图和演说家德摩斯梯尼视为风格的典范，将亚里士多德视为论证方法的典范。她引用了包括贺拉斯、卢坎和尤维纳利斯在内的诗人的恰当名句。她还对西塞罗在家居装饰和雕像方面对希腊文化的迷恋进行了迷人的描述，并巧妙地利用他对自己童年的回忆，为他的家乡阿尔皮努姆 (Arpinum) 描绘了一幅绝妙的文字图景。许多西塞罗研究者并不喜欢他的情绪波动，要么回避，要么贬低他在信件中如此生动传达的焦虑、敏感和易怒。他经常表达恐慌和恐惧，尤其是在他指导镇压卡提林领导的叛乱之后，以及在克洛狄乌斯利用其护民官职权通过立法强迫西塞罗流亡的危机期间。他对克洛狄乌斯的仇恨近乎痴迷。他很快就会感到愤慨，并对政治上的轻视深感痛苦。在女儿图莉亚以及朋友和盟友去世后，他经历了极度的悲痛。他害怕显得软弱，但深受羞耻感和严重的自我怀疑之苦，这导致他渴望从朋友阿提库斯那里寻求安慰；但矛盾的是，这些感受与他对自身、其演说能力及其成就的高度评价共存。他对自己在西西里担任财务官以及镇压卡提林的自负可能令人反感。然而，爱德华兹接纳了关于他心理反复无常的丰富证据，她对这个激情之人的冷静刻画最为有效。她让他通过自己的文字向我们说话——“一位拥有无与伦比法律掌控力的卓越演说家”：西塞罗。Getty Images 爱德华兹让西塞罗通过自己的文字向我们说话，并不担心其中隐含的矛盾和犹豫，通过他自己的文字，并不担心其中隐含的矛盾和犹豫。她敏锐地探讨了青年时期的政治动荡，尤其是苏拉独裁时期（公元前92-79年）之前、期间和之后的血腥与恐怖，是如何为他古怪性格的演变提供肥沃土壤的。她认为他最主要（且完全不切实际）的动机是不惜一切代价维护和平；他最著名的两句话是“战争之时，法律沉默”和“不公正的和平好过公正的战争”。爱德华兹在心理分析上的细腻，使我们与她一同遗憾于西塞罗对其父母（尤其是母亲）关系的近乎沉默，以及她对他关于首任妻子特伦蒂娅 (Terentia) 的晦涩评论可能掩盖了什么的疑问。

对一个在独裁边缘摇摇欲坠的共和国的唤起，具有显而易见的现实意义。人们不禁好奇，在当代谁能与西塞罗形成最佳的类比——无论是作为律师和宪法秩序的捍卫者（乔纳森·萨姆普顿？布伦达·黑尔？），还是作为卓越的演说家（弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基？），亦或是作为公共道德哲学家（罗温·威廉姆斯？）。西塞罗这三种身份兼而有之，无论人们如何看待他的缺陷和糟糕的决定，这一点都值得赞赏。但爱德华兹并没有强加刻意的比较。相反，这部传记以两章结束，讨论了西塞罗的生平及其作品对后古典时代以及文艺复兴以来所产生的跨历史影响。这本会让西塞罗感到欣慰，因为他毫无疑问的个人虚荣心使他非常关注自己的历史遗产。普鲁塔克记载，西塞罗曾说他希望为后世赢得的名声，能让西塞罗家族比罗马任何一个最显赫的家族都更加光荣。爱德华兹是少数几位能够同样出色地撰写古典文化在后世“接纳”情况的古代史专家。但已有整本书在探讨近代对西塞罗的利用与滥用，因此她必须有所筛选。历史人物影响力的程度可以通过人们对他们的反弹来衡量：我本希望听到更多关于卡提林如何被塑造为穷人、负债者和被剥夺者倡导者的内容，尤其是在根植于启蒙思想家（孟德斯鸠、伏尔泰）的社会主义和共产主义传统中；易卜生的《卡提琳》将西塞罗的死敌描绘成被压迫者的捍卫者，而布莱希特则将卡提林视为一个被误解的阶级斗争代理人。但这种遗憾并非批评：它证明了当我读完这部重要的著作时，我发现自己还意犹未尽。请在 observershop.co.uk 订购一本，价格为 £25.50（低于建议零售价 15%）。

本周推荐平装书

作者：Chris Power 一部跨越一代人的历史，讲述了将核能武器化的竞赛，从理论物理学到三位一体核试验，再到世界上第一枚超级炸弹

《世界的毁灭者：核时代的深度历史》 (Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age) Frank Close 著 企鹅出版社，£14.99，336页

数学家斯坦尼斯瓦夫·乌拉姆（Stanislaw Ulam）在1943年10月收到前往洛斯阿拉莫斯的传唤时，正在威斯康星大学任教。正如弗兰克·克洛斯（Frank Close）在其关于“核时代深度历史”的著作《世界的毁灭者》中所描述的那样，他被告知的唯一信息是，他将从事一项秘密、有趣且重要的工作。当他前往大学图书馆借阅一本新墨西哥州指南时，他在借书卡上发现了几位最近从他所在系中消失的同事的名字。

克洛斯在他这本迷人的书中以“三位一体”核试验（1945年美国在新墨西哥州进行的首次核武器爆炸）开篇，但作为该试验一部分的曼哈顿计划的完整叙述直到很后面才出现。相反，他将时间回溯了50年，回到了1895年，当时24岁的欧内斯特·卢瑟福（Ernest Rutherford）正在新西兰挖掘土豆。如果说詹姆斯·瓦特（James Watt）是第一次工业革命（蒸汽）之父，迈克尔·法拉第（Michael Faraday）是第二次（电力）之父，那么克洛斯将卢瑟福定义为第三次工业革命之父。

1917年在曼彻斯特，早已告别挖掘土豆日子的卢瑟福通过用阿尔法粒子轰击氮原子，分裂了原子。这是本书中一系列轰击实验之一：用中子轰击铀，用质子轰击锂，用高能氘核轰击氘。在接下来的几十年里，这些程序从实验室工作台转移到专用设备，再到大规模装置。正如丹麦物理学家尼尔斯·玻尔（Niels Bohr）在谈到制造原子弹时所说，“你需要把整个国家变成一座工厂”。这就是曼哈顿计划所做的。

虽然在曼哈顿计划的运行期间，在担心希特勒的科学家会在盟军之前开发出核武器的恐惧驱动下，发生了惊人的物理学、数学和工程创新，但这在很大程度上是将理论转化为实践的问题。克洛斯书中最引人入胜的部分审视了在此之前的45年，在那段时间里，关于原子内部存在什么以及如何利用其能量（如果确实有大量能量可利用的话）的理论体系逐渐成型。那些错误的尝试与突破性的进展同样有趣。那个时期的狂热兴奋被精准地捕捉到了，而克洛斯对素材的掌控力毋庸置疑。

这类书籍的挑战在于如何弥合那些对科学有相当了解的人与我们其他人之间的差距。我的物理学职业生涯以19%的考试成绩告终，但尽管克洛斯没有将内容简单化，他也没有让我迷路太多次。这是一个全球性的故事，其中出现了许多熟悉的名字：玛丽·居里（Marie Curie）、阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦（Albert Einstein）、恩里科·费米（Enrico Fermi）、J·罗伯特·奥本海默（J Robert Oppenheimer）、爱德华·泰勒（Edward Teller）。

对我来说一个新名字是埃托雷·马约拉纳（Ettore Majorana），他是费米的“Via Panioperna男孩”成员——这个群体不仅研究物理，还一起徒步和滑雪。马约拉纳是一位非凡的理论学家，他不愿发表论文，认为自己惊人的洞察力是“琐碎”或显而易见的。如果不是因为他在1938年早逝，他可能会成为“第二个牛顿”。

我对德国化学家伊达·诺达克（Ida Noddack）以及奥地利物理学家莉泽·迈特纳（Lise Meitner）也了解较少，而后者在核裂变的发现中起到了核心作用。这是核科学武器化的关键一步，但当迈特纳被邀请加入曼哈顿计划时，她拒绝了，并表示：“我绝不想与炸弹有任何关系。”

乌拉姆则没有这样的顾虑。在洛斯阿拉莫斯，他与泰勒共同研究困扰所谓“超级炸弹”的问题。这是一种氢基武器，于1952年万圣节首次测试，其破坏力比投放在广岛和长崎的武器高出多个数量级。克洛斯不止一次将氢弹称为“怪物”。克洛斯写道，在泰勒位于洛斯阿拉莫斯的黑板上，列出了一系列潜在的变体。其中最终且最强大的一种被命名为“后院”，因为将其移动到任何地方都没有意义：无论在何处引爆，它都会杀死地球上的每一个人。请在 observershop.co.uk 订购副本，价格为 £13.49（低于建议零售价 10%） --- 26 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 图书

音乐

欢迎来到派对

dubstep 的创作者们追溯了这一电子音乐子类型的历史——从克罗伊登（Croydon）烟雾缭绕的卧室，到其在世界舞池中的被稀释。 作者：Ammar Kalia

《Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep》 Lauren Martin 著，Velocity Press 出版，£39.99，320页

我最早且最具塑造力的夜店体验之一，是 2010 年在布里克斯顿（Brixton）的一家教堂地下室度过的。当时我 16 岁，被干冰遮蔽了视线，让那个夜晚令人难忘的并非未成年潜入夜店的刺激，而是其压倒性的声音。通过音箱堆传出的低音如此强烈，以至于变成了一种物理存在，频率穿过我的身体，让我的内脏颤抖，牙齿里的填充物也随之震动。我以前从未听过如此强调低频的音乐。没有人声，几乎没有旋律，只有低音压力的坚持，创造出紧张感、压迫感，然后是冥想般的释放。我感到不安，同时又被深深吸引。

那个夜晚是南伦敦具有开创意义的团体 DMZ 的五周年庆典，这是一个由自学制作人组成的团体，他们在 21 世纪之交帮助创造了 dubstep 的新声音。这也是音乐作家 Lauren Martin 所著的《Aftershock》的终点，这是一部关于该运动的百科全书式且引人入胜的口述史。

《Aftershock》记录了这一舞曲子类型从 1990 年代后期到 2010 年代初的兴起，书中采访了 28 位业内人物，每位都回答了每个音乐产业高管都会问其疲于奔命的人才挖掘团队的金牌问题：一种声音是如何开始的，一个圈子又是如何凝聚的？

故事始于克罗伊登——根据 Martin 采访对象中最有趣的一位制作人 Loefah 的说法，那里是“一个毫无可言、近亲结婚般封闭的小镇”。对于那个问题，答案似乎足够简单。在流媒体和 CD DJing era 之前，年轻人和渴望成为 DJ 的人们仍然聚集在唱片店周围，通过翻阅由本身就是艺术家的店员所策划的黑胶唱片架来培养品味。在克罗伊登的 Big Apple Records，这样一个品味引导者 Hatcha，对于一群寻找英国舞池演进下一阶段的狂欢者、游戏玩家和辍学生来说起到了关键作用。

garage 音乐那种切分音的 two-step 声音已变得过于花哨，而 drum’n’bass 狂躁的 breakbeats 则太吵且过于自我参照。制作人们追求的是某种更能诱发出神状态且更简约的东西。于是，充满威胁感、以低音为核心的 dubstep 声音诞生了。

普通夜店客可能因为这个词被误用而认出 dubstep。它经常与 Skrillex 等美国艺人联系在一起，后者用一种激进的、重低音的声音填满了体育馆，这种声音专注于旋律的铺垫，直到迎来一个震天动地的“drop”（掉拍）。Martin 写道，这种形式的 dubstep 是该流派的丧钟。她的使命是将这个词还给它在伦敦 DIY 的根源，深入探讨那些诞生了这种声音的烟雾缭绕的卧室和出席人数寥寥的首秀派对。

音乐口述史形式的一个局限通常是缺乏对一个圈子的分析和评估。当叙述权交给创造者和参与者——那些在 DJ 台的人时，很难解析在舞池中的实际体验和情感是怎样的。庆幸的是，在《Aftershock》中，Martin 成功地引导她笔下那些迷人的角色，以沉浸式的方式讲述了在舞池之中以及幕后发生的故事。

在这些引人入胜的声音中，包括了 Loefah，他 2004 年的曲目《Horror Show》凭借其跳跃且无止尽的超低音，帮助创建了一种风格模板。他那些充满脏话的回忆极具洞察力，详细讲述了 dubstep 是如何在他在大学毕业后的那个夏天开始的，当时他经常与 DMZ 的创始人 Mala 和 Coki 共度时光。在他的卧室里，三人会“抽大麻和烟，混音唱片，用 [音乐软件] Reason 制作节拍，并轮流玩《模拟人生》”。他说，最终，“我们把作品做得没法跳舞，人们开始对我们感到厌烦”，这迫使他们在布里克斯顿（Brixton）举办自己的 DMZ 派对。在这些夜晚，人群变得如此亢奋，以至于他们“经常伸手越过打碟机，自己把曲目拉回去 [以便重新播放部分片段]。有些 DMZ 的演出中，有人会表演两小时，而在这两小时里，他们只播了 10 首曲子，因为有太多的回放。”与此同时，Mala 扮演着 Loefah 这个小顽童身边的长者智者。这位留着脏辫的前米尔沃尔（Millwall）青年足球运动员——他创造了“沉思于低音重量（meditate on bassweight）”这一格言——对这种低音前卫音乐的精神层面有着迷人的见解。“一种数字化的、神秘的音乐正在被创造，而我完全不知道它是如何产生的，”他在谈到该流派的极简主义焦点时说道。“沉默与声音同样重要，正是这种简单让人们在听音乐时能拥有自由的思想。如果发生的事情太多，如果占据了太多的思考能力，那种简单感就消失了。”在这些专业地挖掘出的见解之间，Martin 穿插了更广泛的社会历史评论。我们了解到，像 Skream 和 Benga 这样工人阶级的青少年是如何利用 PlayStation 和 Atari 游戏机上的视频游戏软件自学制作音乐的——这种低保真媒介最终塑造了 dubstep 粗粝的声音。2007 年的禁烟令迫使那些平静地抽大麻的人群到室外抽烟，并鼓励了更强烈的药物和更激进的观众进入俱乐部。相应地， 阴郁、多变的天性被边缘化，取而代之的是更快、更具攻击性的音乐，而在线文件共享的出现使得这种全新的、充满敌意的 在海外人气爆炸。“这种声音变得非常庞大，非常美国化，而且非常吵闹，”Skream 说道，他指向了至今仍主导美国音乐节巡演的最大主义 EDM 音乐。与此同时，在英国，一种更易被接受、更具旋律感的 版本在包括 James Blake 和 Mount Kimble 在内的艺术家的内省音乐中占据一席之地，他们被贴上了“后 ”的标签。一个声音和场景是如何消亡而非兴起的，是《Aftershock》的一个恒久主题。虽然 Martin 的受访者在怀旧时兴致勃勃，但商业化的 2010 年代的阴影挥之不去。Skream 对在金钱开始涌入时的派对荒唐行为表示遗憾，而其他人——比如他的得力制作人 Benga——在书中完全缺席。2015, Benga 透露他被诊断出患有精神分裂症和双相情感障碍，他认为这在一定程度上是由过度巡演引起的。尽管如此，在包括 Mala 和 Loefah 在内的艺人的坚持中仍有希望，他们至今仍在演出。与其说《Aftershock》是对过去的自我陶醉式庆祝——一种“你必须在场才能体会”的历史——不如说它可以被视为未来原创性的模板。Martin 在后记中写道，这些制作人“没有被历史所累，也不觉得有义务通过翻炒过去来证明自己的知识或价值，‘他们勇往直前’。”这是一个当今艺术家可以采用的信条，以确保新一代的孩子能继续在舞池中感受到震撼。请在 observershop.co.uk 订购副本，价格为 £35.99（R&P 享受 10% 折扣），免邮费。

Dan Richards 精选的三本关于夜车的书

《月光快车：环球夜车之旅》(Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train)，作者 Monisha Rajesh (2025) Monisha Rajesh 曾乘坐铁路游历全球，并将她的旅程记录在书中，这些作品深受全球旅行者和“扶手椅冒险家”的喜爱。她最新的这部作品是对卧铺列车的浪漫、复兴及其实用性的赞歌。这是一部沉浸式的旅行日志，时而幽默，且始终充满思考。卧铺虽然被分隔成一个个隔间，但对 Rajesh 而言，它们从未被孤立，也不存在于真空之中。夜车穿行于动荡的世界，为反思以及与旅伴的交谈提供了一个平台。

《东方快车谋杀案》(Murder on the Orient Express)，作者 Agatha Christie (1935) “凶手就在我们之中——就在现在的火车上。”克里斯蒂这部惊险小说中的许多情节只能在卧铺车上发生：密闭船舱内的一场惨杀；一群被雪崩困住的嫌疑人，在奢华的餐车里喝到意识模糊。这是魅力、阶级、污垢与坎普风（camp）的一次独特碰撞，而 Hercules Patriot 在整个过程中表现得极其易怒。“如果你能原谅我的私心——我不喜欢你的长相，”他对一个时日无多的恶棍说道。

《火车之歌》(Train Songs)，编辑 Sean O’Brien 和 Don Paterson (2013) “这是跨越边界的夜邮 / 带来了支票和邮政汇票。”W.H. 奥登为 1936 年一部 GPO 纪录片创作的《夜邮》(Night Mail)，在 90 年后依然能激起人们皮肤上的战栗。《火车之歌》集结了一批引领机车前行的、充满活力的诗歌和歌词，包括 Jean Sprackland 的《跳过的火车》(The Skipped Train)、Philip Larkin 的《五旬节婚礼》(The Whitsun Weddings) 以及 Wendy Coper 的《的确，他是真实的》(Indeed, his True)。但在这些夜间曲目中，最出众的是 Norman MacCaig 那首极其古怪的《卧铺隔间》(Sleeping Compartment)。

Dan Richards 的著作《彻夜：入夜后的旅程、对话与故事》(Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark) 由 Canongate 出版。

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书籍 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 27 美食

一个人用餐？

戴西·林奇（Daisy Lynch）写道，艾莉·戴维斯（Eli Davies）在《单身女性食谱》（The Spinster Cookbook）中借鉴了芭芭拉·皮姆（Barbara Pym）、《欲望都市》（Sex and the City）等元素，以温暖且机智的方式探索了她独自用餐的冒险经历。

《单身女性食谱：单身女性厨房中的文化、政治与愉悦》（The Spinster Cookbook: Culture, Politics and Pleasure in the Single Woman's Kitchen），艾莉·戴维斯 著，Indigo Press 出版，£14.99，272页。

在我刚开始独自生活的头几个月里，我吃过的熟食次数大概可以用一只手地数过来。我刚搬到一个新城市，从大学通勤的时间极其冗长，以至于每天晚上拿起锅铲做饭让我感到压力巨大且疲惫不堪。即便我有时间做饭，我也觉得仅仅为自己一个人做饭是在浪费食物和金钱。食物很少以适合一个人的分量出售，而食谱通常默认是家庭份量。

我原以为只考虑自己的烹饪应该是轻松的，甚至是令人放松的，因为我知道我可以完全按照自己的喜好做菜，且无需担心让任何人失望。然而，我发现，在没有其他人监督我、向我推荐新食谱，或者分担食材采购成本的情况下，我很快就陷入了吃吐司和冷冻披萨的习惯——其他任何事情都感觉像是在浪费。

这种感觉艾莉·戴维斯深有体会。《单身女性食谱》承认，跨文化关于食物的叙事一直是以分享为主，且通常包裹在家庭生活的外壳之中。丰盛而精致的大餐是为晚餐派对、访客和节日准备的，而不是给独自住在公寓里的单身女性的。然而，如果我们把除了自己以外的所有人都排除在画面之外，我们与食物和烹饪的关系会变成什么样？

戴维斯在阅读芭芭拉·皮姆 1961 年的小说《爱无回头》（No Food Return of Love）时产生了这本书的灵感，特别是其中一个场景：一名单身女性邀请另一名女性共进晚餐，并拿出了各种现代且异域风情的“熟食店特产”。戴维斯指出，在同年，《观察者报》记者凯瑟琳·怀特霍恩（Katharine Whitehorn）出版了她的开创性著作《单身公寓烹饪》（Cooking in a Bedsitter）。

在这些作家以及包括凯瑟琳·勒·里什（Kathleen Le Riche）和 MFK 费舍尔（MFK Fisher）在内的其他作者的引导下，戴维斯通过一部回忆录，记录了所有陪伴她度过心碎和宿醉的餐食，以此审视单身女性的厨房习惯。从因为“太累而无法烹饪”而选择的伏特加配吐司晚餐，到野心过大的周日烤肉传统，她为厨房里的单身生活写了一篇宣言：烹饪不再是女性对他人的服务行为，也不再是传统用餐时间表的必然要求。相反，烹饪应当是为了纯粹的愉悦而为之，在你想做的时候做，且仅在你确实想做的时候才做。

每一章都围绕作者生活中的一个个人故事展开，例如，戴维斯在结束一段长达九年的感情、成为一名新单身女性后，为自己做的第一道菜是一个煎蛋。从那一刻起，这顿简单的餐食便代表了一种更广泛的自给自足与康复，她以真正的单身风格主张，“煎蛋最理想的用餐人数就是一个人”。

相比之下，一次约会曾被一顿烤肉晚餐给毁了，因为这顿饭不小心投射出了一种过早的家庭生活图景，最终导致气氛变得糟糕：“为什么我要用一顿沉闷的烤肉晚餐来淹没我对这个帅哥的渴望？”

《单身女性食谱》还深入探讨了烹饪与家庭生活的历史，以及流行文化中对单身女性烹饪习惯的呈现——从《欲望都市》中被忽视的厨房，到托妮·莫里森（Toni Morrison）在《所罗门之歌》（Song of Solomon）中塑造的非传统角色皮拉特（Pilate）——这表明，单身女性一直在努力平衡唐娜·里德（Donna Reed）式的完美家庭理想与 M&S 精选小食（picky bits）的诱惑之间。

每一章都以两道主题相关的食谱结尾，供读者尝试，其难度各异且带有令人耳目一新的原创巧思：“意面与青酱”一章恰如其分地以一道宽面配烤西葫芦（用柠檬皮屑轻微提酸）的指南收尾；而“单身女性晚餐派对”则提供了一道简单且能让任何饥饿宾客印象深刻的牛排配蔬菜主菜。在这里，戴维斯（Davies）给了我们一个机会，去实践那种为一个人烹饪的单身理想，让其在美味且自私的光辉中尽情绽放。即使是像烤面包这样简单的东西，也可以变成一项充满爱心的工作——无论是单独搭配大量黄油享用，还是在生病时作为慰藉食物，亦或是点缀上新鲜的蒜香意式烤面包片顶料。重要的不在于你晚餐吃什么，而在于将烹饪行为本身重新置于中心，摆脱家中任何其他人的压力、期待或偏好。凭借机智且极具个人色彩的轶事、流行文化引用以及女性主义理论的润色，《单身女性食谱》（The Spinster Cookbook）从头到尾都是一部温暖且幽默的读物，对于所有曾在周五晚上坐在厨房地板上吃三明治来代替“正餐”的单身女性同胞来说，绝对能产生共鸣。

周日诗篇

狼 马琳·恩格隆德 (Malene Engelund)

我需要告诉你，生物对生物， 被锁在冷杉与栅栏的两侧， 你的同类正遍布在古老欧罗巴的躯体之上。 它们在她的腋下温暖处沉睡， 在她的肋骨凹陷处繁育幼崽， 而其中一些，其中一些在这一切中幸存了下来。 我也幸存了，尽管我已接近 感受人类之定义的边缘， 而虽然我来到这里是为了理解你如何延续， 但这要求太高了。 要真正了解你，金豺的斑驳兄弟， 我必须进入你的口中， 沿着你的喉咙向下旅行，直到一切开始的地方—— 那关于爱与失去，以及嚎叫之诞生的地方。

马琳·恩格隆德是一位作家、翻译家和艺术评论家。她的诗集《Gather》将于2027年4月由Corsair出版。 插画：克里斯·里德尔 (Chris Riddell) 邮件：@channell@Morristown Images, UK

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28 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 图书 本月图形小说

那个来暂住的男人

Killian Fox 写道，埃米尔·威尔逊（Emil Wilson）通过一本青少年日记的传真页面，提供了一部感人的、半虚构的家庭回忆录，背景设定在艾滋病流行初期。

《夜莺》（The Nightingales） 埃米尔·威尔逊（Emil Wilson） Jonathan Cape 出版，£25，416页

埃米尔·威尔逊的这部处女作图形小说根本不是一部图形小说，而是一本属于他姐姐露（Lou）的素描本。至少表面上如此。书页开头就复刻了那个带有弹性封口的黑色封面。当你翻阅时，绘画和文字在页面上自由流动，没有分格来构建结构，每一页的展开面都被素描本的轮廓所框住。就好像威尔逊所做的全部工作，仅仅是将这个引人注目的家庭文物——它充当了四十年前一个夏天的某种日记——逐页扫描而已。当然，仔细观察就会发现事实并非如此。

故事背景是这样的：那是 1985 年，露即将迎来 18 岁生日。高中生活即将结束。几个月后，她将前往附近城镇的大学，就像她的哥哥埃米尔在去年九月所做的那样，尽管她真正想做的是搬到纽约市。除了最近一次宗教邪教的集体投毒企图外，俄勒冈州的小镇上从未发生过任何令人兴奋的事情。

然后有一天晚上，她的父亲宣布他邀请了一位办公室的同事来家里暂住。这个名叫吉姆（Jim）的男人被赶出了公寓，无处可去。除此之外，他患有癌症，或者至少露的母亲是这么说的。但露感觉到这里还有其他事情在发生，而她没有被告知。

在第一次见面时，露从各种倾斜的角度勾勒吉姆，逐渐揭示出一个留着胡子、戴着眼镜、身边跟着两只白色蓬松小狗的憔悴男人。她对其他角色也这样做，反复绘制他们并带有细微的变化，仿佛在他们的面孔和身体中寻找某种更深层的真相。但吉姆被证明尤其具有吸引力，尤其是当他开始向她讲述他在纽约同性恋圈子生活的故事时。

很快，事实显现：吉姆患有艾滋病。那是疫情初期的日子，正如威尔逊所写，“人们在评判病人身上花费的精力，比在试图帮助他们身上花费的更多”。吉姆的房东将他赶走，称他为“病态的果实”。急救人员拒绝接触他。甚至露的母亲安妮玛丽（Annemarie）也对吉姆出现在他们家中感到惊骇，担心不仅是病原体的传播，还有道德上的传染。

安妮玛丽是一位过度保护的母亲，她宁愿疏远孩子，也不愿让他们暴露在风险之中。露挖掘母亲痛苦的根源，反思自己被娇养的童年和乏味的婚姻。在书中频繁出现的幻想片段中，她通过安排母亲与一个抽烟的圣母玛利亚之间的对话，深入挖掘安妮玛丽的内心世界。对于难以捉摸的父亲唐（Don），她采取了同样俏皮的方式，将他的生活故事以用户手册的形式呈现，仿佛他是一个可以通过几个简单步骤揭示其运作机制的小玩意。

这类富有想象力的飞跃——露还将吉姆的博美犬设定为一场华丽电视访谈节目的主持人——提供了书中一些最令人难忘的时刻。它们也表明，这不仅仅是一个 teenage 女孩的插画日记。

在结尾的作者注中，威尔逊解释说，虽然故事的基本事实是真的——他的父亲确实在 1985 年邀请了一位患有艾滋病的同事及其爱犬搬进家中——但他对其进行了几处艺术加工。他的姐姐和父母被虚构化了，而吉姆的主要灵感则来自威尔逊后来在纽约为一家艾滋病慈善机构做志愿者时遇到的一位男士。

这些扭曲并未削弱这本书的影响力。随着吉姆病情恶化，他与露之间建立的纽带极其令人动容。作为对她的友谊和照顾的回报，他给了她一些建议，使她的生活走向了一条不同的、不再那么恐惧的道路——尽管这违背了她母亲的意愿。如果说我有什么批评的话，那就是尽管插图较为简略，但它们比文字更强有力地表达了故事。在散文写作方面，威尔逊倾向于冗长地阐述观点。即便如此，这位常驻旧金山的美术总监威尔逊在此创造的速写本形式是有效的。这种形式有多种先例——日记体小说，以及在美学上一直沿用到横线页面的日记风格漫画——但我从未见过像这样实现的。可在 observershop.co.uk 订购一本，价格为 £22.50（低于建议零售价 10%）。

发件人： 日期：4 Dec at 13:33 主题：回复：您的 Vitsoe 订单 收件人：email@vitsoe.com

谢谢你，Mirko。刚刚安装好。还会买更多书…… 我自己安装的。有了这个超级系统，你不需要额外的帮手。而且我离所谓的“能干的人”还差得很远。

顺颂商祺， Pascal

VITSOE 我们要感谢来自比利时安特卫普的 Pascal，允许我们分享其反馈。

---

书籍 observer.co.uk 09.08.26 29

苏西·登特：“我们死死地抓着英语的衣角不放”

《Countdown》节目的词汇专家谈牛津的隐藏阴暗面、她的新犯罪小说《Death Writ Large》，以及“沙发土豆”的政治学。

作者：Ellen Peirson-Hagger

苏西·登特（Susie Dent），61岁，是一位词典编纂者、词源学家和广播员，因在第四频道（Channel 4）节目《Countdown》的“词典角”（Dictionary Corner）环节中亮相而闻名。她还撰写了大量关于语言的非虚构类书籍，以及两部小说。她的第一部小说《Guilty By Definition》是2025年最畅销的硬壳犯罪类处女作。其续作《Death Writ Large》延续了相同的人物阵容——牛津克拉伦登英语词典（Clarendon English Dictionary）的工作人员——当警方调查一具尸体以及城市各处出现的神秘涂鸦符号时，他们的词典编纂技能派上了用场。

为什么将词典编纂与犯罪结合对你来说感觉很合适？ 几十年来，我一直将词典编纂者描述为“文字侦探”。我们使用非常相似的语言：我们寻找证据、线索和足迹。在数据收集方面，成为一名犯罪侦探和成为一名文字侦探之间有很多平行之处——尽管两者的赌注显然截然不同。

你是如何确定你的核心词典编纂者三人组的？ 在《Guilty By Definition》中，三人组的同事西蒙说：“这就像在看克里姆特的画作［《女人的三个年龄》］”——老妪、穿着套装的母亲和孩子。她们都处于人生中截然不同的阶段。我把心血都倾注在了玛莎（Martha）身上，但从年龄上看，我更接近亚历克斯（Alex）。我渴望变得更像亚历克斯——她时髦且精明。萨菲（Safi）有着永不满足的好奇心，且经常不顾他人的感受，因为她还没学会如何收敛。而玛莎则生活在自己的精神世界里——完全像我一样。让三个处于不同阶段但拥有这种纽带的女性在一起，对我非常有吸引力。

牛津给人的感觉就像一个角色，就像玛莎和她的同事们一样。 我确实想把牛津塑造成一个角色。狄更斯对伦敦的刻画就如此精美，我也很喜欢唐娜·塔特（Donna Tart），因为她对阿姆斯特丹和拉斯维加斯艺术界的阴暗面做了非常类似的处理。对我来说，展示一座经常被描绘成拥有经典“梦幻尖顶”的城市很重要。但这里也有阴暗的角落。

“成为一名犯罪侦探和成为一名文字侦探之间有很多平行之处”：苏西·登特。

比莉·谢泼斯（Billie Scheepers）也是如此。警方看到的牛津与游客看到的牛津截然不同。

你是如何进入词典编纂行业的？ 我进入词典领域完全是偶然。我学习的是德语。大学毕业后我想在出版业工作，我花了一年时间才获得牛津大学出版社的面试机会。我曾担任双语词典的助理编辑。五年或六年之后，英语词典也进入了我的职责范围，我对英语词典编纂产生了兴趣，并更多地参与到《牛津英语词典》中。

其中什么吸引了你？ 他们的团队拥有世界上最棒的工作。在他们的电脑屏幕背后有着魔力，因为他们面对的是这些庞大的、包含数十亿词汇的语言数据库，他们能够追踪一个词从其诞生之初（可能在千年前）直到今天的演变轨迹。他们会观察那些破土而出的词，以及那些正在沉没的词，这一切都是实时发生的。他们的工作是为一种永远在逃逸的语言建立某种结构。塞缪尔·约翰逊（Samuel Johnson）曾精辟地将其描述为，词典编纂者“将永远追逐太阳”。一旦你接受了这一点，你就会死死地抓着英语的衣角不放，随之而行。

在你的新小说中，侦探督察奥利弗·考德威尔（DI Oliver Caldwell）指责玛莎凭借她的词典编纂工作生活在象牙塔里。你认为它扮演了重要的社会角色吗？ 词典编纂的目标是提供

“我想把牛津变成一个角色。狄更斯在描写伦敦时就做得如此出色。” 它是对当时语言状态的真实描述，因此你可能会给出人们不想要的描述，他们可能会请愿要求修改，或者请愿要求某个词彻底消失。我在牛津大学出版社（OUP）工作时，英国马铃薯委员会曾在门外抗议，因为他们不喜欢“couch potato”（沙发土豆）这个词——他们认为这在告诉人们马铃薯没有营养，并希望我们将其替换为“couch lout”（沙发粗汉）。但英语完全是一种民主。我们从未有过一个告诉我们什么能用、什么不能用的科学院。词典编纂者的工作不是去抵制习惯用法。我认为我们真正能产生影响的地方在于我们选择的例句，要确保这些例句不会复制偏见或成见。所以这里确实肩负着一份责任。

你最近有最喜欢的词源发现吗？

是一个最简单的词，我以前从未把它们联系起来。就是“strand”这个词；“to be stranded”（搁浅）。在德语中，海滩是 der Strand——所以 to be stranded，就是被冲上岸，就像潮汐涨起或退去，你字面意义上被搁浅了。这是我最近几周最快乐的发现。

哪些犯罪小说作家给你带来了灵感？

阿加莎·克里斯蒂，人们经常把她的作品当作慰藉之读，我年轻时也是如此。但她的许多故事讲述的是出于极其平凡的人类原因而发生的谋杀——她的凶手通常不是怪物，这反而让他们显得更阴暗。我还必须再次提到唐娜·塔特：她探讨了对美的热爱如何转向执念或自我毁灭。她赋予角色一种真正的知识强度——这很惊人，但同时也具有一定的腐蚀性。

你的夏季阅读计划是什么？

离开牛津后，我心中有一种轻微的恐惧，不敢回到那些在大学时代如此神奇的地方。阅读对我来说也是如此。如果某样东西变得特别，我会非常害怕重新接触它，以免魔力消失。但这正是我目前面对面前这堆书时所做的事情——我正在重新阅读那些几十年来我不敢重读的书。所以我准备读《白马骑手》（Der Schimmelreiter，西奥多·施托姆著），这是我爱上的第一个德语故事；《儿子与情人》（Sons and Lovers，D.H. 劳伦斯著），它的书页已经泛黄，事实上书页甚至在脱落；还有托马斯·曼的《威尼斯之死》。

《Death Writ Large》由 Zaffre 出版（£20）。在 observershop.co.uk 订购副本仅需 £18（低于建议零售价 10%） --- 30 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

谜题

根据图片猜答案

作者：劳拉·卡明 (Laura Cumming)

本周问题： 请写出（上方）画家的姓名及其国籍。答案将于下周日公布。

上周的细节出自威廉·尼科尔森爵士 (Sir William Nicholson) 在 1920 年为伟大的英国园艺师格特鲁德·杰基尔 (Gertrude Jekyll) 绘制的肖像画。杰基尔在为风度翩翩的尼科尔森担任模特时已近 70 岁；尽管她是现代园艺学的先驱，但尼科尔森将她描绘成一名身着深色长裙的杰出维多利亚时代女性。她当时已经设计了 300 多个花园，将她的植物色彩理论表达得如同画家一般。在这里，她耐心地坐着，等待绘画环节结束，她那极具天赋的双手布满了如枯萎叶片般的斑点。尼科尔森通常对物体比对人更感兴趣。同年晚些时候，他画了杰基尔的靴子，这幅画后来成为了极其受欢迎的明信片。

电影连连看

每周我们展示三张剧照。请猜出涉及的电影以及将它们联系在一起的编剧。（如果你能按时间顺序排列，可获得额外加分。）

由基利安·福克斯 (Killian Fox) 出题 答案见第 31 页

Everyman 纵横字谜 No. 4,164

横向

1 免费获得座位 (4) 3 开始爬行 - 并且跌倒；我们的儿子摇摇欲坠 (2,3,5) 9 在 awfully creamy rissoles 的首字母之后，Everyman 开始看到一点铺展？ (4) 10 对一些访客睡觉的地毯进行了修改 (5,5) 12 不愿让你的参与被注意到？ (5,6) 15 强迫凶猛的类型接受爱 (7) 16 准备就绪，颤抖，在 House 的最后一集之前 (7) 17 大声地排斥；林地生物身上的蜱虫在范围内 (7) 19 拍摄显然证明有问题？休息一下 (4,3) 20 拥有并持有？ (11) 23 歌手在比赛中跟随多声部歌曲 (5,5) 24 E End 的计划；在此处潜伏 (4) 25 棋手手势的合法位置 (5,5) 26 凯蒂 (Kitty) 绕回 (4)

纵向

1 被激怒，就像 four sofa beds 的边缘被撞乱了 (7,3) 2 张开双臂和一枚奖章 (10) 4 发现于北欧 (特隆赫姆)，某种小型且免费的东西 (7) 5 切碎的鼠尾草和 lordo 的一部分：一道意大利菜 (7) 6 如果天气阴暗且有风暴，事故后的帮助 (5-3,4) 7 最初代表：据说天上的乌拉尼亚舰队？ (4) 8 金发也许在小乐队之后 (4) 11 协助骗局的下属 (6,6) 13 在南美首都的电影中看到的三个纸牌戏法 (10) 14 斯普纳 (Spooner) 告诉我们：富兰克林用于服务的抬高物品 (6,4) 18 家庭成员，可能完成了许多击球 (7) 19 围绕北方的较小者，且音调更高 (7) 21 区域通风更好，你是这么说的吗？ (4) 22 喝醉了 bouzouki？ (4)

姓名 地址 邮编

姐妹们可以通过以下方式在线参加我们的字谜比赛：www.observer.co.uk / puzzles 或发送电子邮件至：competitions@observer.co.uk 鼓励无纸化参赛；仍接受邮寄参赛。随机选出的五个正确答案将各获得一张 £15 的图书代金券。 如需参加 Everyman 抽奖，请通过在线或邮寄方式提交正确答案至：Everyman No. 4,164, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP 电子邮件参赛必须在主题行中包含与印刷版一致的字谜名称和编号（例如 “Everyman No. 4,164”）。主题不正确的参赛作品将不被接受。 仅限 10 岁及以上的英国居民。每人限参加一次。在线参赛的截止日期为出版后的周六；邮寄参赛的邮戳不得晚于出版后的周六，且必须在谜题出版后十天内送达（即出版后下周的周三）。 获胜者将在出版两周后的周日公布。完整条款与条件请访问：https: / observer.co.uk / puzzles / everyman / article / crossword-prize-draw

[...OMITTED...]

规则与要求

若要参加 Gemelo 抽奖，请通过以下方式提交正确答案：在线提交至 https: / observer.co.uk / puzzles，发送电子邮件至 competitions@observer.co.uk，或邮寄至：Gemelo No. 43, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W17 3LP。电子邮件参赛者必须在主题栏中包含与印刷版一致的填字游戏名称和编号（例如“Gemelo No. 43”）。主题不正确的参赛作品将不被受理。鼓励无纸化参赛。仅限 13 岁及以上的英国居民参加。每人最多提交一份参赛作品。在线提交的截止日期为发布后的周六；邮寄参赛作品的邮戳日期不得晚于发布后的周六，且必须在谜题发布后的十天内送达（即发布后下周的周三）。将随机抽取三个正确答案，每位获胜者将获得一张 £25 的图书代金券。Gemelo No. 43 的获胜者将于 2026 年 8 月 30 日周日公布。完整条款与条件请访问：https: / observer.co.uk / puzzles / overymon / article / crossword-price-draws。Gemelo No. 40 中奖者：A Dickerson, Sheffield；H Jenkins, 奖品待领，请通过电子邮件确认；R Zara, Leamington Spa。# Godefridus 出题的 Killer 数独

适用普通数独规则，但灰色线条内的单元格数字之和必须等于角落中的数字。在灰色线条形成的每个形状内，数字不能重复。电影连接（Cinema Connect）答案：《布马身份》（2002）、《魔鬼代言人》（1997）和《侠盗一号》（2016）均由 Tony Gilroy 共同编剧。# Jonathan Speelman 出题的国际象棋

图表 1

一个兵在下方并面对两个象，白方处于劣势——但为什么 41 Rh77 加速了失败？（见结尾。）年度英国国际象棋锦标赛一直在考文垂附近的华威大学校园内举行；从 8 月 1 日星期六开始，到今天结束。这是该锦标赛继 1970 年（当时我在第二次参加英国赛时，在 16 岁以下组中首次与乔纳森·梅斯特持平）和 2015 年之后第三次访问华威。在 1970 年代初我第一次参加英国赛本身时，它是一个 11 轮的赛事，参赛人数在 30-odd。人数逐渐增加，今年有超过 100 人参加，包括 11 位特级大师，首先是卢克·麦克谢恩、迈克尔·亚当斯和西内扬·罗亚尔以及 21Ms。在赛程过半后，乌克兰青少年斯维亚托斯拉夫·巴扎库察和 2022 年冠军哈里·格里夫以 4.5 / 5 领先，其后是六名得 4 / 5 分的选手，包括三位顶尖种子选手和令人惊叹的 11 岁选手博达娜·西万南丹。今年的大棋赛巡回赛（Grand Chess Tour）正移至其总部密苏里州圣路易斯进入尾声，先是快棋和超快棋，随后是年度辛奎菲尔德杯，比赛将于明天开始。一如既往，快棋 / 超快棋由三天的快棋（计双分）和随后的双循环超快棋赛组成。在三天的快棋赛后，拉梅什巴布·普拉格纳南达以 6 / 9（根据其计分方式为 12 / 18）领先，贾沃希尔·辛达罗夫得 5.5. 世界冠军古凯什·多马拉朱参加了在华沙和萨格勒布的快棋 / 超快棋赛，但随后退出了巡回赛，以集中精力准备即将到来的对阵辛达罗夫的世界冠军卫冕赛，该比赛现已确认在 11 月 24 日至 12 月 15 日于日内瓦举行。辛达罗夫也将参加辛奎菲尔德杯，该赛事具有明显的美国色彩，10 名参赛者中有 4 人是本土选手。在全女性队伍“She Plays to Win Lionesses”被晋升至 ANCL 最高级别后，引发了一场骚动。 每个性别至少有一名球员，正是为了促进仍处于少数地位的女性球员的发展。通常这会导致队伍呈现 6-2 或 7-1 的男女比例，但几年前伍德格林队的队长布赖恩·史密斯派出了一支由七名女性和一名配偶——立陶宛特级大师维多利亚·切尔尼利特现已离婚的丈夫亚历克谢·希罗夫组成的队伍。虽然有人呼吁修改该规则，但这似乎不太可能。

图表 2

理查德·贝茨是一位强大的国际大师，在几盘对局后我与他的战绩持平，但在时间压力下可能会有些不稳定，而他在这里正接近时间压力。在使用了大部分时间后，他做出了一个有些不切实际的选择。 30 Rxb77! 完全可以下，但 30 Rh6 会更简单，因为最明显的线路是 30...Rxb6 31 cxb6 Bxd5 32 exd5 Qxb6 33 d6 Qxd6 34 Qxa5，结果是死局。 30 Rb6 Qd3 很有趣。然而，简单的 31 Rxb7 Bxb7 32℃6 Bxb6 33 Ne3 Qxe4 34 Qxa5 对白方来说没问题，而且事实上 31 Rxc6 Rb1+ 32 Kg2 Qxe4+ 33 f3 Qe1 34 Rc8+ Kh7 35 Ne3 应该是胜势。 30...Qxb7 31 f3 防守 e 兵但暴露了国王 31 Qxa5? 输给了 Qb1+ 32 Kg2 Qxe4+。 31...a4 32 Nb6? 这已经输了，因为布洛克的后能够决定性地渗透。 32 Kf2f 本可以控制局面。 32...Qx7 33 Qa3 Qa5 34 Nd5 Qe1+ 35 Kg2 Qe2+ 36 Kg1 Qe1+ 37 Kg2 Bb5! 38 Kh3 或者 38 h4 Bf1+ 39 Kg1 Be2+。 38... Bc7+ 39 g4 f7 39 Kg2 Qe2+ 40 Kg1 Bh3 决定胜负。 39...Bb5 40 Ne3

图表 3

40...Qf2 白方投子，因为之后是 41 Ng2 Bf1。

向下

1 击球失误的一轮中的一部分？ 2 国际象棋等级分类型 3 发短信时的“再见” 4 为房客准备的物品 5 很久很久以前 6 许多炸鱼薯条套餐中的鱼类 7 Take That 乐队中加里和霍华德的队友 8 长途车旅中孩子们的经典游戏 9 中餐中的蒸包 13 像优质巧克力慕斯一样 15 连胜终结 16 CD 的前身 18 交出 20 达斯·维达口中的卢克 21 phi 和 psi 之间的字母 22 嗨亚辛斯·巴基特绝不会承认去过的地方

Godefridus 的大苹果数独

每一行、每一列以及 3-1 都被用来创建数字 1-5，此外还有一个额外花样——四个高亮的 3-3 蓝色方格共同组成了一组额外的方格，这些方格同样包含 1-9 且无重复 4。

(1) “fracture”（骨折 / 断裂）意为打破，源自拉丁语经由法语，衍生自单词 frangere，意为打破。 5. (2) 无能符号：双纽线，一个侧向的数字 8 符号（即，最初由数学数据用来代表无穷大。） 6. (3) 同样源自拉丁语 litmus，意为用字母交替。 7. (4) 一个在左， 一个在右，一个在右

测验答案 1. (1) 似乎 bargaon 有七边，源自希腊语 bagel，意为七。bargaon 有四边，bargaon 有九边，且 bargaon 有 11 边。 2. (2) 条件：最初，一个条件后面没有 600 个零，但今天它后面有 300 个零，因此在英国，重复后面没有 5 0

--- observer.co.uk 09.08.26 33

留在家中

音频

美国虚构故事

两部 Radio 4 广播剧想象了肯尼迪遇刺后阴谋与间谍活动的阴影世界——并预言了今日的混乱 Xavier Greenwood

中央情报局

BBC Radio 4 / BBC Sounds

Libra BBC Radio 4 / BBC Sounds

《纽约时报》曾兴致勃勃地报道，1966年至1973年期间的中央情报局（CIA）局长理查德·赫尔姆斯（Richard Helms）喜欢通过给妻子读间谍小说来放松。人们不禁好奇，这位守护秘密的人会对BBC Radio 4的《中央情报局》（Central Intelligence）有何看法，该剧通过其领导的机构之视角，将战后美国的歇斯底里戏剧化。第三季带领听众从1963年约翰·F·肯尼迪遇刺一直到1968年理查德·尼克松当选。在这段动荡时期，林登·B·约翰逊担任总统，赫尔姆斯获得重大晋升，而CIA则故伎重演：干预拉丁美洲的选举，监视国内的反战活动人士，并采取极端手段试图扭转越南局势。与此同时，苏联在搞鬼，古巴的阴影似乎无处不在。《中央情报局》的构思是将事件通过埃洛伊丝·佩奇（Eloise Page）的眼睛来看，她是一位由金·卡特拉尔（Kim Cattrall）饰演的真实间谍。但问题在于，她在很大程度上是一个沉默的见证者，这增强了这样一种感觉：这是一个关于肆意妄为的男人们的故事，他们在对是非的认知上自负到了极点。用一群一线演员来戏剧化这段历史是一把双刃剑。虽然凯尔西·格拉默（Kelsey Grammer）饰演的约翰逊光彩夺目，但约翰尼·弗林（Johnny Flynn）饰演赫尔姆斯则是个奇怪的选择。弗林那带有乡土气息的声音过于亲切，听起来就像这位CIA局长曾被送到英国寄宿学校就读。（实际上，他在瑞士受教育。）制片人还寄希望于听众会对基本上等同于在不同房间里进行的一系列对话感兴趣。事实证明，我确实感兴趣。美国的恐惧、偏执、傲慢和冒险主义？如今的混乱早已由那些易怒的特工和一个目光短浅的总统预言。在每集开头，《中央情报局》无需通过指出当代平行事件来引导我们。这些关联已然清晰可见。而且，能听到一些没有被过度热心的主持人通过美化维基百科条目来事后解释的历史，真是令人欣慰。期待尼克松的出现。作为预备听力，《天秤座》（Libra）是BBC改编自唐·德里罗（Don DeLillo）1988年小说作品，它与《中央情报局》一样，从肯尼迪遇刺开始。随后它回溯，解释李·哈维·奥斯瓦尔德（Lee Harvey Oswald）是如何实施刺杀的。由于故事将历史事实与推测相结合，你必须分辨哪些是真实的，哪些是虚构的。即便如此，这仍是一次奇妙的旅程。奥斯瓦尔德是一个妄想症患者且极其无趣，他盯着书本，喃喃自语共产主义者的名字，开枪打自己的肘部，并愿意为任何接纳他的国家效力。苏联人认为奥斯瓦尔德用途有限，但这个吹牛者引起了CIA的注意。故事想象道，两名特工诱导他刺杀肯尼迪，希望古巴为此负责。《天秤座》对于BBC Radio 4的“美国故事”系列来说是一部具有挑衅性的改编小说，并且是《中央情报局》以及唐纳德·特朗普领导下的美国的有趣对照篇。肯尼迪是该国最持久的阴谋论主题，而该国目前由一名“阴谋论总司令”治理。特朗普此前曾暗示，他认为奥斯瓦尔德在刺杀过程中可能得到了帮助。无论这部剧是否反映了总统的世界观，最重要的是，《天秤座》预示了已经渗入美国骨髓的日常暴力。虚无主义从未如此具有现实意义。米兰达·索耶（Miranda Sawyer）休假中

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为热爱文化的好奇者量身定制，价值超过£300的福利

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展览

《生活模式：埃尼德·马克斯与现代英国设计》（The Pattern of Life: Enid Marx and Modern British Design） 展出于 Compton Verney / 门票买1送1，节省£17

节日

《长路》（The Long Road） / 门票8折，最高节省£46

旅行与体验

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34 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

电视

作者：Craig McLean, Kay Ribeiro 和 Stephen Armstrong 电影评论：Wendy Ide

本周亮点

今日

今日推荐

《伊朗内部：战争与革命》(Inside Iran: War & Revolution)

ITV1, 10.15pm 一部由冒着生命危险的伊朗记者拍摄的启示录式电影，记录了改变世界的七个月。通过手机拍摄的片段和第一人称采访，它捕捉了一个国家如何从威胁政权的起义，转而被特朗普威胁将迎来文明的终结。一位参与者深刻地总结了那些反对伊斯兰共和国、但同样厌恶轰炸其国家之人的感受：“感觉就像你和杀掉你孩子的凶手被关在一起，而外面是一群狼。” CMc

《理查德·E·格兰特的现代奥德赛》(Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey)

Channel 4, 8pm 在第二集中，理查德·E·格兰特继续用他那如天鹅绒般圆润的嗓音和热情吸引观众，他对荷马那部“扣人心弦的故事”《奥德赛》的致敬将他带到了西西里岛。在那里，他前往被认为是奥德修斯与独眼巨人对峙之地的埃特纳火山朝圣，并与一位公爵夫人在她位于巴勒莫的宫殿中共进晚餐，因为……为什么不呢？ KR

《安东尼娅·弗雷泽夫人回忆……〈生日派对〉》(Lady Antonia Fraser Remembers... The Birthday Party)

BBC Four, 10pm 在 1975 年其剧作《生日派对》的演出中，哈罗德·品特遇到了他未来的妻子安东尼娅·弗雷泽夫人，这在伦敦上流社会引起了轰动。弗雷泽回顾了他们的初次邂逅，以及她对 BBC 备受赞誉的 1987 年改编剧版（晚上 10.10pm 播出）的喜爱，在剧中品特饰演了口才流畅的戈德堡。 KR

电影

《麦克白夫人》(Lady Macbeth, William Oldroyd, 2016)

BBC Two, 11.40pm 这不是一部温文尔雅的服装剧：这部电影开启了当时 20 岁的弗洛伦斯·皮尤的演艺生涯。她在饰演主角凯瑟琳时表现惊人，凯瑟琳是一名年轻的新娘，在 18 世纪的英格兰农村被卖给一个阴沉且年长得多的男人，陷入一段没有爱情的婚姻。与一名暴躁的农场工人（由 Cosmo Jarvis 饰演）的私情释放了凯瑟琳内心的暴力和破坏力。皮尤眼神坚毅且极具吸引力：她角色的报复是野蛮的、毫不妥协且冷酷无情的。威廉·奥尔德罗伊的这部风格独特的导演处女作由《正常人》的编剧 Alice Birch 撰写，优雅地改编自尼古拉·列斯科夫 1865 年以俄罗斯为背景的小说《门岑斯克区的麦克白夫人》。 WI

周一

今日推荐

《龙之家族》(House of the Dragon)

Sky Atlantic, 9pm 第三季无疑比沉闷且充满政治博弈的第二季有所提升。一场接一场的战斗在海上、天空、原野以及各种闺房中展开。虽然它还没有像巅峰时期的《权力的游戏》那样具有强大的凝聚力，但它已经铺垫到了这场高风险的结局。雷妮拉（在性方面）燃了起来，艾蒙被母亲艾莉森下毒，伊耿找回了他的魅力（和巨龙），而奥蒙终于采取行动（通过砍掉科利斯的手指）。Dracarys! CMc

《欧洲田径锦标赛》(European Athletics Championships)

BBC One, 8pm 虽然近期英联邦运动会的五场报道仅限 TNT 和 HBO Max 订阅者观看，但所有持有电视执照的人都可以享受接下来七天的体育盛事。来自 50 个国家的运动员在伯明翰的亚历山大体育场争夺荣誉，其中包括退出了英联邦运动会但在今晚 100m 项目中参赛的迪娜·阿舍-史密斯。 KR

《沃伦的涡流》(Warren's Vortex)

Sky Comedy, 10.10pm 一部来自《惠灵顿超自然》(Wellington Parunormal) 背后新西兰喜剧团队的新周播冒险剧。露西在花园棚屋里偷偷抽电子烟，被吸入了一个秘密的跨维度传送门，而这个传送门一直被她的父亲沃伦用来处理花园垃圾。沃伦随后跟了进去。他们的第一次旅行：一个由失控的机器人冰箱统治的近未来世界。 CMc

电影

《上天允许的一切》(All That Heaven Allows) (道格拉斯·瑟克，1955) Film4, 3.15pm

与道格拉斯·瑟克的所有浪漫情节剧一样，这部宏大且 sweeping 的老少恋故事在肥皂剧的边缘徘徊。但简·怀曼饰演的上流社会寡妇与一名年轻得多的男子——由英俊的洛克·哈德逊饰演的务实园丁——之间禁忌之爱的故事，是一场色彩浓郁、情感剧烈且过度渲染的奢华盛宴。为了与新欢共度余生，怀曼饰演的角色必须面对大学年龄子女的不认可，以及社交圈好友们的尖酸刻薄——这足以让她质疑与这个男人在粗糙的圆木小屋里是否真的有未来。托德·海因斯的《远离天堂》直接受到了这部电影的启发。WI

周二

今日精选

乔与大卫的魔幻情景喜剧之旅 (Joe & David's Magical Sitcom Tour) UKGold, 9pm

喜剧演员好基友乔·威尔金森（Joe Wilkinson）和大卫·厄尔（David Earl）继续他们随性的情景喜剧之旅，这次目的地是《福尔蒂塔》(Fawlty Towers)。超级粉丝大卫在参观场景拍摄的演播室和户外地点时兴奋不已，并从一名前格伦伊格尔斯（Gleneagles）酒店员工那里获得了深刻见解，正是那位臭名昭著的粗鲁经理启发了敌对酒店经营者巴兹尔·福尔蒂（Basil Fawlty）这个角色的创建。锦上添花的是（或者说是华道夫沙拉里的苹果）：与该剧的共同创作者兼主演约翰·克利斯（John Cleese）进行了一次视频通话。KR

穆里尼奥 (Mourinho) 奈飞 (Netflix)

“我不友善。我[这样说]是带着自豪感的。” “‘那个特别的人’是某种特别的玩意儿，英国那些家伙[这么说]。” 这些以及其他警句般的金句出自葡萄牙足球教练若泽·穆里尼奥之口。这部三集肖像剧虽然遵循了熟悉的体育传记节奏，但同样精彩。第一集：他震撼抵达切尔西。CMc

狂野之山 (Savage Mountain) Sky Documentaries, 9pm

2023, 克里斯汀·哈里拉（Kristin Harila）出发旨在打破攀登全球所有 14 座海拔 8,000m 以上高峰的记录。她成功了，但当一名来自另一支 K2 登山队的受伤夏尔巴人死在包括哈里拉在内的登山者将其越过之后，她遭到了谴责。这部电影探讨了她的巅峰时刻、低谷深渊以及高海拔伦理。CMc

电影

《乐一通：地球爆炸之日》(Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up) (彼得·布隆加特，2024) Sky Cinema Premiere, 3.10pm

作为《乐一通》系列推出的第一部全动画长片，《地球爆炸之日》是一场恰到好处的无政府主义且极具创造力的愚蠢狂欢。世界陷入严重危机，一颗炽热的彗星正处于碰撞航线上。而更复杂的是，一个狡猾的外星领主计划通过将所有人变成顺从的僵尸来奴役人类。我们生存的唯一希望？好朋友兼室友波基猪（Porky Pig）和达菲鸭（Duffy Duck）。面对被驱逐的困境，社交焦虑的猪和那个拿着大锤的疯鸭在一家泡泡糖工厂找了份工作（巧合的是，这家工厂在僵尸阴谋中起到了关键作用）。混乱随之而来。WI

周三

今日精选

谋杀审判：狗遛客之死 (Murder Trial: Death of a Dog Walker) BBC Two, 9pm

又是一起关于惨烈刑事案件的电视记录：近期在格拉斯哥审理的退休猎场管理员大卫·坎贝尔（David Campbell）案，他被指控预谋用散弹枪谋杀布莱恩·洛（Brian Low），后者曾是他在一个 Aberfeldy 狩猎庄园的同事。但这部两集剧集引人入胜，部分原因在于这位珀斯郡原住民所欣赏的，是证人席上乡村民众那种谨慎、沉稳且不露声色的特质。关键证据：一段马匹受惊的 CCTV 录像。低调，但赌注极高。CMc

隔壁间谍：安娜·查普曼的故事 (Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story) Channel 4, 9pm

更多潜伏在社区中的俄罗斯特工（另见 Sky 的《索尔兹伯里中毒事件：隔壁间谍》）。这位被莫斯科上线称为安娜·库什琴科（Anna Kushchenko）的“迷人红发女郎”骗取了一本英国护照，随后移居纽约成为一名房地产企业家——直到她被 FBI 逮捕，揭露了一个潜伏特工网络。CMc

今日推荐：欧超杯集锦

BBC One, 10.40pm 这场连接两个赛季的巅峰对决将在奥地利萨尔茨堡的红牛竞技场举行，对阵双方是巴黎圣日耳曼（2025 / 6赛季欧冠冠军，曾将阿森纳拒之门外）和阿斯顿维拉（欧联杯冠军）。巴黎圣日耳曼是卫冕冠军且被视为热门，这可能会让维拉最著名的球迷陷入极度沮丧。 CMc

电影

《神牛》(Holy Cow) (路易丝·库尔沃西耶, 2024)

Film4, 1.50am 这部在法国票房上出人意料地大获成功的作品，讲述了丧亲之痛、青春期荷尔蒙以及竞争激烈的奶酪制作故事，是一部清新且充满泥土气息的迷人电影。导演路易丝·库尔沃西耶在故事发生的法国汝拉地区长大，这是她的处女作，其电影语言如此生动且真实，让你几乎能品尝到其中的味道。演技新人克莱门特·法沃饰演的托托内令人惊艳，这是一个狂野的青少年，在父亲去世后必须承担起照顾妹妹的责任。他拯救家族小农场的计划？制作一款世界级的喜剧奶酪并赢得丰厚的奖金。 WI

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26 35

周四

今日精选

《我的辉煌职业》(My Brilliant Career) 奈飞 (Netflix) 这部六集剧集改编自迈尔斯·富兰克林1901年的小说（一部澳大利亚经典作品），由菲莉帕·诺斯（《新闻播报员》）饰演一名具有早期女权主义意识的乡村女孩兼有抱负的作家，她被她那傲慢的祖母（安娜·钱斯勒）收养。克里斯托弗·钟（《慢马》）饰演一名与她处于“相爱相杀”状态的绅士农民。父亲是马来西亚人的钟告诉我：“我们没有像《布里杰顿》那样采用色盲选角，一切都基于真实情况和历史背景。” 令人心醉。 CMc

《大交易》(The Big Deal)

与斯蒂芬·麦戈文 BBC Two, 9pm 这部六集真人秀竞赛节目带有浓厚的《学徒》风格，七对“对艺术好奇”的参赛者被投入当代艺术世界，旨在将他们培养成艺术交易商。在第一集中，他们尝试在拍卖会上出售毕业生的作品，过程中包含了一些令人尴尬的、德尔·博伊式的讨价还价和大量空话。 KR

《时光之屋》(A House Through Time)

BBC Two, 9pm 大卫·奥拉索加深入探讨了爱丁堡卡尔顿山20号和22号的迷人历史。艰辛与勇敢的故事深深烙印在这座18世纪住宅的墙壁中，这里曾居住过包括菲茨西蒙斯牧师（他曾帮助法国战俘逃离爱丁堡城堡）、白手起家的皇家雕塑家小约翰·斯蒂尔以及妓院老板凯瑟琳·约翰斯顿在内的角色。 KR

电影

《 Inside Llewyn Davis》(伊桑·科恩, 乔尔·科恩, 2013) BBC Four, 10pm 格林威治村。20世纪60年代初。民谣风潮正盛。每一家汗涔涔的地下潜水酒吧都挤满了挥舞着吉他的苍白年轻人；每个街角都有一个流浪歌手。正是这个场景很快将鲍勃·迪伦推向世界。但那是另一个故事，由另一部电影讲述。科恩兄弟这部氛围忧郁且具有启发性的正剧喜剧则聚焦于一个失败者。莱温·戴维斯——由面色阴沉的奥斯卡·艾萨克饰演，一个完全由锐角和尖刺组成的人——是一个忧郁的失败者，在每一个转折点都能成功地破坏自己的音乐事业。凯瑞·穆里根在充满活力的配角中表现出色。 WI

周五

今日精选

《他罪有应得》(He Had It Coming) BBC Three, 11.15pm 这是一部由莉迪亚·韦斯特主演的、带有黑色幽默的澳大利亚悬疑剧，通过易怒的大学生视角探讨性别政治。韦斯特饰演古板的英国奖学金学生艾丽丝，她在对有毒男性行为产生共鸣后，与网红芭芭拉（娜塔莎·刘·博迪佐）成为了朋友。在酒精和女性愤怒的驱动下，她们破坏了大学男性创始人的雕像，结果第二天早上，一名明星运动员的尸体就在雕像旁被发现。随后陷入了巨大的焦虑之中。 KR

逍遥音乐节：贝多芬第七交响曲

BBC Four, 晚上7pm 在世界杯决赛中场秀客串之后，委内瑞拉指挥家古斯塔沃·杜达梅尔（Gustavo Dudamel）将率领洛杉矶爱乐乐团在逍遥音乐节（Proms）亮相，这是该乐团二十多年来的首次登场。贝多芬强有力的《第七交响曲》与加布里埃拉·奥尔蒂斯（Gabriela Ortiz）带有政治色彩的芭蕾舞曲《钻石革命》（Revolución diamantina）堪称完美搭配。KR

弗兰克·斯金纳：30 Years of Dirt

Sky One, 晚上9.pm 这位脱口秀老将于四个月前在巡演结束时拍摄了这部作品——采用了宽容的黑白画风——因此我们仍能感受到遮瑕膏的喧嚣和人群的气味。在这里，他最后一次沉思关于“傻瓜笑话”永恒的魔力以及观众的萎缩：“哈罗德·希普曼（Harold Shipman）把我的门票销量啃出了个洞。”CMc

电影《坠落》（On Falling）（劳拉·卡雷拉，2024）

BBC Two, 晚上11.05pm 这部由出生于葡萄牙、定居苏格兰的电影制作人劳拉·卡雷拉（Laura Carreira）执导的令人印象深刻的首部长片，为“便利”的代价赋予了人性化的面孔。由乔安娜·桑托斯（Joana Santos）深情且细腻地饰演的奥罗拉（Aurora）在苏格兰的一家大型库存仓库工作。这是一种不稳定的、勉强糊口的生活——奥罗拉在支付房租后几乎买不起食物——而且她不仅在经济上贫困。她孤立且痛苦地感到孤独，渴望建立联系。该片由肯·洛奇（Ken Loach）的公司Sixteen Films制作，与洛奇对零工经济的谴责之作《抱歉我们错过了你》（Sorry We Missed You）等电影一样，采用了共情式的社会现实主义手法。这是一部极具力量的作品：一个关于被非人性化对待的工人们令人心碎且低调愤怒的肖像。WI

周六

今日推荐

《喀布尔》 BBC Four, 晚上9.pm & 9.50pm 这部由法国 / 意大利 / 德国联合制作的六集剧集，背景设定在2021年8月美国和北约军队撤出阿富汗期间。随着塔利班包围首都，那些曾帮助西方人的阿富汗人恳求获得出境签证。与此同时，纳扎里（Nazary）一家因为女性拥有工作而担心遭到报复，选择逃亡。“我向你们保证一件事，”一名意大利大使馆工作人员说，“历史将审判我们，因为我们以牺牲女性为代价出卖了这个国家。”这是一部至关重要且令人羞愧的必看之作。CMc

逍遥音乐节：庆祝格雷斯兰

BBC Two, 晚上7.30pm 四十年前，保罗·西蒙（Paul Simon）发行了《格雷斯兰》（Graceland），这是他宏伟的、无视种族隔离抵制（并激怒了活动人士）的第七张个人专辑，灵感来自南非音乐。遗憾的是，这次音乐会上没有“押韵的西蒙”。但最初的合作者Ladysmith Black Mambazo在Nu Civilisation管弦乐团的协助下带来了原汁原味。我们可以称他们为伙伴。CMc

协和客机坠毁：震惊世界的日子

Channel 4, 晚上10pm 在25年里，协和客机是奢华和超音速旅行的代名词，让乘客仅用三小时即可跨越大西洋。随后，在2000,年7月25日，悲剧发生：从巴黎飞往纽约的4590,号航班在起飞时起火，导致所有109名乘客和4,人死亡。在这里，调查人员提供了令人震惊但简单的解释。KR

电影《猴子》（Monos）（亚历杭德罗·兰德斯，2019）

Channel 4, 凌晨1am 在某个未指明的南美国家的高山上，一支武装精良的青少年民兵听从一个看不见的权威的命令。他们的主要职责是：看守一头征用的奶牛和一名人质——一名女工程师。漫长而令人眩晕的日子没完没了，孩子们用古怪的仪式和权力游戏来填补时间。将这一切与青春期荷尔蒙、迷幻蘑菇和半自动武器结合起来，就成了一场灾难的配方，通过震撼的摄影和米卡·利维（Mica Levi）沉闷且野蛮的配乐，将其以生动且令人迷失的强度唤起。亚历杭德罗·兰德斯（Alejandro Landes）这个残酷且超现实的故事，感觉就像是经过约瑟夫·康拉德（Joseph Conrad）那种高度热带疯狂过滤后的《蝇王》。WI

电视流媒体

本周精选

本周的流媒体内容尽是腐败政府、高伤亡人数和不懈的调查员。李·查尔德笔下的杰克·里彻（Jack Reacher）是通俗惊悚小说的体面代表——马尔科姆·格拉德威尔、村上春树和玛格丽特·德拉布尔都是这位半里尔波、半兰博式动作英雄的粉丝。但正如德拉布尔所言，动作仅是里彻魅力的一半——她写道：“那是怎样的风景，怎样的公路和汽车旅馆，怎样的神话维度”。亚马逊的《里彻》（Reacher，Prime Video，周三播出）在展现里彻这一面时显得有些吃力，过于依赖这个大块头男人的拳头，而忽略了黑咖啡和吃派的餐馆。在第四季开篇，导演萨姆·希尔（Sam Hill）在戏弄观众，由艾伦·里奇森（Alan Ritchson）饰演的里彻在费城心满意足地看着世界在眼前流逝。当然，这种情况不可能持久。本季改编自节奏快且残酷的小说《Gone Tomorrow》，是一部节奏很快但残酷程度稍减的改编作。里彻试图阻止一名自杀式袭击者，结果发现对方只是单纯的自杀。但随着相关利益方——包括警方、联邦调查局、中央情报局以及各种持刀暴徒——的人数不断增加，他们都要求拿回一个他们认为该女子在死前交给里彻的闪存盘，显然这不仅仅是一起自杀案需要解决。里彻带着两名跟班警察笨拙地推进，提供了恰到好处的感伤与喜剧色彩，以平衡里奇森那种“次级终结者”的气场。希尔或许不够大胆，没能将镜头在咖啡和派上多停留，但他能处理血腥的谋杀和大量传统的暴力冲突。

《蓝色之女》（Las Azules / Women in Blue，Apple TV，周三播出）在经历了一季复杂的首秀后回归第二季，证明了你不需要强壮的肌肉也能击败腐败。《蓝色之女》背景设定在1971年的墨西哥，讲述了一支作为公关噱头而组建的全女性警察小队，但她们决心证明自己的价值。在第一季抓获一名连环杀手后，充满魅力的母亲玛丽亚（Maria）获得了晋升，她带领着活动家妹妹瓦伦蒂娜（Valentina）、社交恐惧的安赫莱斯（Angeles）和乐观主义者加比娜（Gabina）介入了一起充满政治色彩的陈年旧案，该案涉及特拉特洛尔科大屠杀，当时美国支持的士兵在1968年枪杀了学生抗议者。随着一名凶手寻求向责任人复仇，这起案件突然变得棘手。该剧惊艳的中世纪美学帮助其超越了单纯的残酷。SA

艾伦·里奇森回归饰演杰克·里彻。Prime

--- 36 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

今日电视

理查德·E·格兰特的现代奥德赛 (Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey)，Channel 4，晚上 8 点 这位演员继续他的旅程，前往西西里岛

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 早餐节目 (T) 9.0 新闻 (T) 10.0 祈祷与反思 (T) (R) 10.30 朝圣：穿越北威尔士之路 (T) (R) 11.30 免费之财 (T) (R) 12.15 淘宝猎人 (T) (R) 1.0 新闻 (T) 1.15 赞美之歌 (T) 1.50 1.50 鲁比·吉尔曼：十岁海妖 (2023) (T) 3.15 机器人快跑：大出游 (T) (R) 3.35 择偶游戏 (T) (R) 4.35 房屋翻新 (T) (R) 5.35 新闻 (T) 6.0 名人移居乡村 (T) (R) 7.0 乡村档案 (T)	6.20 电视园艺 A-Z (T) (R) 7.05 俯瞰绝美花园 (T) (R) 7.50 乡村档案 (T) 8.50 气象员漫步精选 (T) 9.20 布奇格罗夫花园 (T) (R) 9.50 周六厨房 (T) (R) 11.20 印度美食简易指南 (T) (R) 12.20 12.20 那个知道的人：不多 (T) 2.15 板球：百球赛 (T) 伦敦精神女队 v 伯明翰凤凰队 (R) 4.35 女子赛 & 6.0 板球：百球赛 (T) 伦敦精神男队 v 伯明翰凤凰队 (R) 男子赛（开始时间 6.0pm）。	6.0 詹姆斯·马丁的美国冒险 (T) (R) 7.0 詹姆斯·马丁的周六早晨 (T) (R) 9.25 新闻 (T) 9.30 与艾伦·蒂奇马什共度周末 (T) (R) 11.25 费恩·布里顿：走进兽医 (T) 12.25 汤姆·克里奇烹饪意大利菜 (T) (R) 12.55 新闻 (T) 1.05 自然之力 (R) 2.05 2.05 谍海风云 (T) 4.30 全球追击 (R) 5.35 新闻 (T) 6.0 自然之力 (T) 7.0 艾默代尔 (T) 7.30 加冕街 (T)	6.20 干杯 (T) (R) 7.15 大家都爱雷蒙 (T) (R) 8.30 辛普森一家 (T) (R) 10.0 周日早午餐 (T) 1.0 杰米烹饪地中海美食 (T) (R) 2.0 隔壁农场：阿曼达、克莱夫和孩子们 (T) (R) 3.05 街上最烂的房子 (T) (R) 4.05 爱它还是列出出售：绝妙建筑 (T) (R) 4.40 4.40 修女也疯狂 2：重回习惯 (比尔·杜克, 1993) (T)	6.0 Mikshakel 9.05 5频道娱乐新闻 (T) 9.10 9.10 杀手巡逻：大电影 (2023) (T) 首播：11.0 快乐露营者：房车公园 (T) (R) 12.0 与苏珊·卡尔曼同行 (T) (R) 1.0 与苏珊·卡尔曼同行 (T) (R) 2.0 简·麦克唐纳在纳什维尔 (T) (R) 4.0 直播：2026年英国最强壮男人赛：决赛 (T) 来自 Braehead 体育馆：6.55 新闻 (T) 7.0 1970年代的饮食法：对你有用吗？ (T) (R) Jock Gibson 参加了一个受迪斯科启发的舞蹈班。	7.0 2026年威尔士诗人节 (Eisteddfod) 与 Huw Stephens (T) (节目重复列出 Huw)
					8.0 古董路演 (T) (R) Floria Bruce 在伦敦哈克尼区的 Clissold 公园主持本节目。
					9.30 阿波罗现场 (T) (R) 脱口秀界的顶尖表演者在伦敦 Hammersmith Apollo 面对满座观众录制的节目中分享他们对生活的观察。今晚的节目由 Lou Sanders 主持，嘉宾包括 City's AB 和 Neil Delamere。
					8.0 范德法尔克 (T) 当一名环保活动人士在全球会议前夕被谋杀时，Piet 和团队被召集前来。闭路电视捕捉到了几名潜在嫌疑人，包括一名著名歌手，由 Marc Warren 主演的剧集《Drama》。
					8.0 理查德·E·格兰特的现代奥德赛 (T) 这位演员抵达西西里岛，

据说是独眼巨人 Cyclops 的故乡，他在巴勒莫与一位公爵夫人一起烹饪。 / 8.0 吠叫得（非常）糟糕的狗 (T) (R) Goethe Hall 前往埃塞克斯，帮助一家宠物友好酒吧恢复平静。 / 8.0 青年国家管弦乐团在逍遥音乐会 (T) 国家青年管弦乐团演奏柏辽兹的《交响曲》 (2023)。 / 9.0 狂喜 (T) Bethany 的一幅新画引导 Gabs 前往古老的废墟。由 Ruth Madeley 主演的剧集最后一集。 / 10.0 10.0 内部的刘因戴维斯 / 10.0 新闻 (T) 天气 / 10.0 名人 Gogglebox (T) (R) 11.0 11.0 如何进行性行为 (T) 12.50 12.50 老人 (M. Night Shyamalan, 2021) (T) 2.35 拉姆齐的酒店地狱 (T) (R) 3.25 情侣来我家用餐 (T) (R) / 9.0 四季酒店内部：帕克巷 (T) 纪录片：礼宾经理 Adam 必须同时处理两场盛大的庆祝活动。 / 9.40 布朗特一家曾住在此处：作家之屋 (T) Margaret Drabble 访问哈沃斯牧师住宅和约克郡荒原，这里是文学家族布朗特一家的故居。 / 10.0 新闻 (T) 10.25 地区新闻 (T) 天气 / 11.40 11.40 麦克白夫人 (2016) / 10.15 朗廷酒店内部：英国第一家豪华酒店 / 10.0 当跟团游出差错时 / 10.0 10.0 当跟团游出差错时 / 10.0 Lady Antonia Fraser 回忆 (T) 生日派对 (T) 11.55 Arena：哈罗德·品特 – 第一部分：房间 (T) 12.55 Arena：哈罗德·品特 – 第二部分：庆祝 (T) / 10.30 10.30 布里奇特·琼斯的理智边缘 (2004) (T) 12.10 你认为你是谁？ (T) (R) 1.10 本周天气 (T) 1.15 新闻 (T) / 1.05 手语区：你认为你是谁？ (T) (R) 2.05 手语区：Ann Droid (T) (R) 2.35 家庭中的恶魔：Ruby Franke 的陨落 (T) / 12.0 电视购物 3.0 天空中的男高音 (T) (R) / 12.50 12.50 如何进行性行为 (T) 12.50 老人 (M. Night Shyamalan, 2021) (T) 2.35 拉姆齐的酒店地狱 (T) (R) 3.25 情侣来我家用餐 (T) (R) / 11.0 1 / 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 1**

周一 10

欧洲田径锦标赛，BBC One，上午 10:30 Jeanette Kwakye 为亚历山大体育场第一天的赛事提供报道

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 早安节目 (T) 9.30 动物公园 (T) (R) 10.0 追踪、寻找，找回我的车 (T) (R) 10.30 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) 第一天开幕赛报道 (T) 1.15 新闻 (T) 1.40 地区新闻 (T) 1.50 新闻 (T) 2.0 无偿资金 (T) 2.45 逃离城市 (T) (R) 3.30 修理铺 (T) (R) 4.30 答案奔跑 (T) 5.15 无用之用 (T) (R) 6.0 新闻 (T) 7.0 综合节目 (T) 7.30 东区东街 (T)	6.30 淘宝猎人 (T) (R) 7.15 无偿资金 (T) 8.0 修理铺 (T) 9.0 新闻	6.0 英国早安 (T) 10.0 今日早晨 (T) 1.30 新闻 (T) 1.55 当地新闻 (T) 2.0 迪金森的真实交易 (T) (R) 3.0 成交或不成交 (T) (R) 4.0 倾斜点 (T) (R) Ben Shephard 主持这场街机主题问答赛 (T) 5.0 追击 (T) (R) 6.0 问答节目，由 Bradley Walsh 主持 (T) 6.0 当地新闻 (T) 7.30 天气预报 (T) 7.30 Fletcher 家族农场 (T) (R) 8.0 Fletcher 家族关注多元化发展，奶牛 Ruby 迎来转机	6.30 皇后之王 (T) (R) 7.45 每个人都爱雷蒙德 (T) (R) 9.10 弗雷泽 (T) (R) 喜剧 (T) 11.10 厨房噩梦美国版 (T) (R) 12.05 新闻 (T) 12.10 寻找、修复、出售 (T) (R) 1.10 豪宅赠送 (T) (R) 2.10 倒计时 (T) 3.0 阳光之所 (T) (R) 4.0 与 Penelope Keith 共救乡村住宅 (T) (R) 5.0 城堡 DIY (T) (R) 6.0 美国拾荒者 (T) (R) 6.0 Mike Wolfe 和 Frank Fritz 偶遇投币机帝国 (T) 7.0 新闻 (T)	6.0 Mikshakel 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 新闻 (T) 12.50 Matt Alwright (T) 2.20 12.20 我的致命记忆 (Egg Gaston, 2022) (T) 1.10 厨房噩梦美国版 (T) (R) 12.05 新闻 (T) 12.10 寻找、修复、出售 (T) (R) 1.10 豪宅赠送 (T) (R) 2.10 倒计时 (T) 3.0 阳光之所 (T) (R) 4.0 与 Penelope Keith 共救乡村住宅 (T) (R) 5.0 城堡 DIY (T) (R) 6.0 美国拾荒者 (T) (R) 6.0 Mike Wolfe 和 Frank Fritz 偶遇投币机帝国 (T) 7.0 新闻 (T)	7.0 铁路建筑学 (T) Tim Dunn 探索废弃的 Down Street 地铁站
					8.0 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) 亚历山大体育场第一天晚间赛的进一步报道，包括女子 100 米决赛。由 Jessica Ennis-Hill 和 Jenny Meadows 提供分析。
	8.0 唯有连接 (T) “医生”队对阵“殖民地鹅”队。	8.0 艾默代尔 (T) 一个村庄的生活被彻底颠覆。	8.0 Martin 和 Roman 的爱尔兰公路旅行 (T) 新剧集。Martin 和 Roman Kemp 探索爱尔兰的传说与历史。	8.0 街头警察：抓捕 Yoke (T) 一名因超速被拦截的司机得到了超出他预期的“照顾”。	8.0 西班牙艺术 (T) 本期探讨西班牙绘画的黄金时代。
10.0 新闻 (T) 10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气预报	8.30 大学挑战赛 (T) 问答赛：牛津大学 Magdalen 学院对阵华威大学。	8.30 住在宫殿里 (T) 失散多年的家人：无迹可寻的出生 (T) Davina McCall 和 Nicky Campbell 帮助寻找 Michael 和 Christine。	9.0 名人被追捕 (T) 一项逃脱计划在布赖顿酝酿。两名名人利用军事网络获取情报和支持。	9.0 逃票者：在

法律之战 (T) 纪录片，跟随伦敦交通局调查员追踪一名涉嫌惯犯的逃票者。 | 9.0 智多星 (Mastermind) (T) 经典问答节目 1977 年播出的第一轮预赛。 | | 10.40 10.40 琼琼的宝贝 (Bridget Jones's Baby) (Sharon Maguire, 2016) (T) 浪漫喜剧续集。 | 9.0 进化 (Evolution) (T) 克里斯·帕克汉姆 (Chris Packham) 揭秘马为何变得如此之快。本系列最后一集。 | 10.0 新闻 (T) 天气 | 10.0 吉普赛妻子的秘密生活 (Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives) (T) 真人秀系列。 | 10.0 警用拦截车：打击商店窃贼团伙 (Police Interceptors: Taking Down the Shoplifting Gangs) (T) (R) 纪录片。 | 9.30 猜我的虚构 (Call My Bluff) (T) 参赛者为 Nanette Newman, Ioannis Langley 和 Russell Harty。 | | 12.35 未来一周天气预报 (T) 12.40 新闻 (T) | 10.0 莫蒂默与怀特豪斯：钓鱼去 (Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing) (T) (R) 10.30 新闻之夜 (Newsnight) (T) 11.05 11.05 阶梯 (The Staircase) (T) (R) 12.45 手语区：乡村生活 (Sign Zone: Countryfile) (T) (R) 1.35 手语区：贝尔热拉克 (Sign Zone: Bergerac) (T) (R) | 10.45 冷案法医：尼罗河上的死亡 (Cold Case Forensics: A Death on the Nile) (T) (R) 11.45 爱与死亡 (Love & Death) (T) (R) 12.35 电视购物 3.0 (Shop on TV 3.0) 阶梯 (The Staircase) (T) (R) 4.10 电视放松时刻 (Unwind with TV) (T) | 11.05 超富阶层的手术秘密 (Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich) (T) (R) 12.05 名人性爱录像秘密 (Secrets of the Celebrity Sex Tapes) (T) 12.55 拉姆齐的酒店噩梦 (Ramsay's Hotel Hell) (T) | 11.05 交通警察 (Traffic Cops) (T) (R) 12.05 扣车场警察 (Car Pound Cops) (T) (R) 1.0 巡航电视 (Cruise TV) (T) 2.0 娱乐新闻 (Entertainment News) (T) | 10.0 夜空 (The Sky at Night) (T) 10.30 西班牙绘画黄金时代：综合篇 (The Golden Age of Spanish Painting: Omnibus) (T) 11.20 百幅名画 (One Hundred Great Paintings) (T) 11.35 英国失落的水域 (Britain's Lost Waterlands) |

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[网站地址] 09.08.26 第 37 页

周二 11

穆里尼奥，奈飞记录球星教练的崛起 / BBC One / BBC Two / ITVI / Channel 4 / 5 / BBC Four / --- / 6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) 1.15 News (T) 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 (T) Weather 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 (T) Weather 6.30 Regional (T) Weather 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T) / 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Farmers' Country Showdown (T) (R) 3.30 Spy in the Ocean (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Rigid It (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 欧洲田径锦标赛 (T) / 6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 (T) Weather 1.55 Local (T) Weather 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 由 Ben Shephard 主持的问答节目 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) 由 Bradley Walsh 主持的问答节目 6.0 Local (T) Weather 6.30 (T) Weather 7.30 Inside the Langham: Britain's First Grand Hotel (T) 总经理监督朗廷威尼斯酒店的进展。 / 6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) Chris 和 Jalyon 将一个狭小空间改造为豪华浴室 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 7.0 (T) Headlines. / 6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20THE Danger Rocks the Cattle (Roxanne Boisvert, 2022) (T) 由 Devin Cecchetto 主演的惊悚片 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 (T) 6.0 Corfu Jewel of the Med (T) (R) 6.0 Rachael Lumley 讲述关于科孚岛的简介 6.55 (T) 7.0 The Yorkshire Veh At Home with the Greens (T) (R) 7.0 Jean 带一只年老的猫进行检查 7.55 (T) / 7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) 位于威尔士的 Ffestiniog 铁路。 / 8.0 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) 亚历山大体育场第二天晚间赛事的进一步报道，包括男子 100 米决赛、男子 Rigid 跳跃和女子 100 米栏决赛。 / 8.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) 缝纫者们挑战广泛的体育世界，包括游泳短裤。 / 8.0 Emmerdale (T) Billy 和 Dawn 计划他们的逃亡。 / 8.0 Dover 24 / 7: Britain's Busiest Port (T) 工作人员通过一场纪念仪式，标志着该港口在两次世界大战中的作用。本系列最后一集。 / 8.0 Inside Longleat (T) 镜头跟随一支鸟类保护团队和一群飞蛾爱好者。 / 8.30 Keeping Up Appearances (T) Hyacinth 试图通过一个将 Richard 变成高管的计划，将他从社交边缘拯救出来。 / 10.0 (T)10.30 Regional (T) Weather 10.40THE The Boys in the Boat (George

克鲁尼，2023) (T) 乔尔·埃哲顿出演的剧情片 12.35 未来一周天气预报 (T) 12.40 新闻 (T) / 9.0 血腥玛丽：露西·沃斯利调查 (T) (R) 回顾英格兰第一位加冕女王是否配得上她的名声。本系列最后一集。 / 9.0 冷案法医：血迹之谜 (T) 安吉拉·加洛普揭示血液中的线索如何帮助解决两起犯罪。本系列最后一集。 / 9.0 名人被猎 (T) 两名明星在一家乡村酒店被包围，其他明星也成为了猎人的目标。 / 9.0 罗布·林德和露丝·古德曼谈罗马人 (T) 主持人和历史学家回顾公元 122 年哈德良皇帝访问罗马不列颠的情况。 / 9.0 阿达尔·奥汉隆：古墓探险 (T) 这位演员兼喜剧演员探索爱尔兰的主要考古发现。 / 10.0 新闻 (T)10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 10.40THE 船中少年 (乔治·克鲁尼，2023) (T) 乔尔·埃哲顿出演的剧情片 12.35 未来一周天气预报 (T) 12.40 新闻 (T) / 10.0 阿波罗现场 (T) (R) 主持人：埃马纽埃尔·索努比、特洛伊·霍克和奥尔加·科赫 10.30 新闻之夜 (T) 天气 11.05 莱斯塔特吸血鬼：吸血鬼访谈 (T) 莱斯塔特被激怒了。 / 10.0 新闻 (T) 天气 10.30 当地新闻 (T) 天气 10.45THE 谍海危机 (刘易斯·吉尔伯特，1977) (T) 12.55 电视购物 3.0 峰会 (T) (R) 3.50 在ITV放松 (T) / 10.0 Gogglebee (T) (R) 11.05 吉普赛妻子的秘密生活 (T) (R) 特鲁利与她的姐妹们发生冲突 12.05 裸体吸引力 (T) (R) 1.0 兰斯基的酒店地狱 (T) (R) 戈登展开调查。 / 10.30 船上的炸弹：蒙巴顿勋爵谋杀案 (T) (R) 12.05 连环杀手妻子 (T) (R) 1.0 邮轮电视 (T) (R) 2.0 5频道娱乐新闻 (T) (R) 最新进展。 / 10.0 神风特攻队：一段未讲述的历史 (T) 纪录片。 / 11.30 夜空 (T) 12.0 地平线：宇宙中的无天气现象 (T) 1.0 美丽的方程式 (T) 数学中的优雅。

周三 12 MotD：欧超杯集锦，BBC One，晚上 10.40 Désiré Doué 和巴黎圣日耳曼对阵阿斯顿维拉 / BBC One / BBC Two / ITVI / Channel 4 / 5 / BBC Four / --- / 6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) 1.15 News (T) Weather 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 (T) 6.30 Regional (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T) / 6.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Farmers' Country Showdown (T) (R) 3.30 Spy in the Ocean (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Rigid It (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 欧洲田径锦标赛 (T) / 6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 (T) 1.55 Local (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Alan, Kathy, Genevieve 和 Andy 参加 6.0 Local (T) 6.30 (T) 7.0 季前足球直播 (T) 曼联 v 利兹联（晚上 7.30 开球）。Hugh Woozencroft 主持在都柏林 Croke Park 举行的这场友谊赛报道。 / 6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 7.0 Frank Fritz 发现了一辆哈雷戴维森“拳击手”车型。7.0 (T) 最新报告和进展。 / 6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20THE Deadly Secrets (Jessie Shannon, 2023) (T) 由 Lizzie Boys 和 Kate Drummond 主演的惊悚片 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 (T) 6.0 Sicily: Jewel of the Med (T) (R) 6.0 镜头聚焦地中海最大的岛屿 6.55 (T) 7.0 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) 追踪因各种违规而被扣押的车辆 7.55 (T) / 7.0 Villages by the Sea (T) Ben Robinson 揭秘沿海村庄及其社区中经常令人惊讶的故事，旅程从法夫的 Culross 开始。 / 8.0 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) Gallop Logan 为亚历山大体育场第三天晚间赛程提供进一步报道，包括男子 400 米和女子 400 米栏决赛。 / 8.0 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 专家修复了一张肯尼迪总统子女的照片、一个鼓组时钟、一个融化的蜡像以及一件传统的委内瑞拉弦乐器 9.0 Murder Trial (T) 两部分之第一部分。关于一名在苏格兰被发现死亡的男子的案件。 / 9.50 It'll Be Alright on the Night (T) 另一部电视危险、失误和忘词的集锦，参与明星包括 Joel Dommett, Romesh Rangarathan, Ant & Dec, Colin Murray, Amid Rajan, Susanna Reid, Joe Pasquale, Prue Leth 等多人。 / 8.0

Extraordinary Extensions (T) 一对夫妇在翻修位于坎特伯雷的一家 B&B 时发现了一个战时防空洞 9.0 Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story (T) 讲述英国模特安娜·查普曼的故事，她在 2010 年被揭露为俄罗斯间谍。 / 8.0 Casualty 24 / 7: Every Second Country (T) 新剧集：一名 78 岁的管理员出现胸痛且血氧水平危险地低 9.0*999: Critical Condition (T)* 医疗团队救治一名在原因不明的昏厥后为生存而奋斗的女性。 / 8.0 The Treasures of Ancient Rome (T) 艾拉斯泰尔·斯奈德探索古罗马艺术。本系列最后一集 9.0 Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit (T) 这位资深学者探索罗马帝国的物质世界。 / 10.0 News (T)*10.30* Regional News (T) 天气 10.40 MotD: UEFA Super Cup Highlights (T) 巴黎圣日耳曼 对阵 阿斯顿维拉 11.10*THE* New Eye (韦斯·克雷文, 2005) (T) 紧张的惊悚片 / 10.0 Inside No 9 (T) (R) 10.30 Newsnight (T) 天气 11.05 Evolution (T) (R) 12.05*THE* Kindling (康纳·奥哈拉, 2023) (T) 剧情片 1.35 Sign Zone: Amityville: An Origin Story (T) (R) / 10.20 News (T) 天气 10.50 Local News (T) 天气 11.05 Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace (T) (R) 12.05 Shop on TV 3.0 Love & Death (T) (R) 侦探们加强了审问。 / 10.0 24 Hours in A&E (T) (R) 11.05*999: On the Front Line (T)* (R) 急救人员救治一名分娩中的女性 12.10 Celebrity Hunted (T) (R) 一项逃跑计划被制定 1.05 Celebrity Hunted (T) (R) / 10.0 Ambulance: Cede Red (T) (R) 一名司机得到了帮助 11.05 Cause of Death (T) (R) 12.05 A&E After Dark (T) (R) 1.0 Cruise TV (T) (R) 2.0 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R) 2.50 Castle (T) (R) / 10.0 I, Claudius (T)*10.50 I, Claudius (T)11.45 The Treasures of Ancient Rome (T) 本系列最后一集 12.45 Inside the Bat Cave (T) 1.45 Wainwright Walks (T) 2.15* Villages by the Sea (T) / --- 38 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

周四 13

The Big Deal With Steph McGovern, BBC Two, 晚上9点 主持人主持一档新的艺术交易商真人秀 / BBC One / BBC Two / ITV1 / Channel 4 / 5 / BBC Four / --- / 6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 2026年伯明翰欧洲田径锦标赛 (T) 1.15 News (T) Weather 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 (T) 6.30 Regional (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T) / 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 10.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart (T) (R) 3.35 Spy in the Ocean (T) (R) 4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Flag It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 European Athletics Championships (T) / 6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 (T) 1.55 Local (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 See It's 以正确的顺序打开 22 个红色盒子。 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 由 Ben Shephard 主持的问答节目。 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Alex, Karen, Judy 和 Drifton 在问答赛中竞争。 6.0 Local (T) 6.30 (T) 7.30 Tom Kerridge Cooks Italy (T) Tom 探索意大利风景如画的山脉。 / 6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flag It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) Mike Wolfe 和 Frank Fritz 遇到了一台从未见过的农民微型机车。 7.0 (T) 最新头条。 / 6.0 Mikshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20 The Replacement Daughter (Bruno Hernández, 2024) (T) 由 Stacy Haiduk 主演的惊悚片。 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 (T) 6.0 Crest: Jewel of the Med (T) (R) 对希腊最大岛屿的探索。 6.55 (T) 7.0 Around the World in First Class with Josie Gibson (T) 在芬兰和瑞典。 7.55 (T) / 7.0 Villages by the Sea (T) Ben Robinson 考察坎布里亚郡波特卡莱尔一个失落港口的遗迹。 7.30 Wainwright Walks (T) Julia Bradbury 攀登英格兰最高峰斯卡费尔峰。本系列最后一集。 / 8.0 2026年伯明翰欧洲田径锦标赛 (T) 第四天晚间赛事的进一步报道。十项全能以 1500 米结束，女子三级跳远、撑杆跳高和 3,000 米将颁发奖牌。 / 8.0 The Big Deal With Steph McGovern (T) 新系列，七支队伍竞争在艺术市场赚钱。 9.0 A House Through Time (T) 新系列。David Olusoga 通过一座爱丁堡房产中的生活记录绘制英国历史。 / 8.0 Emmerdale (T) Dylan 向 April 承认他一直很挣扎。 8.30 Coronation Street (T) Tim 在没有咨询 Sally 的情况下收留了 Richie 的女儿。 9.0 The Chase Around the World (T) 在苏黎世，各队伍

面对女管家和黑暗毁灭者。 / 8.0 翻新救援 (T) Vogue Williams 和 Luke Mabbott 帮助寡妇 Fiona 为承载诸多珍贵回忆的家庭住宅注入新生命。9.0 隔壁的间谍：安娜·查普曼的故事 (T) 安娜·查普曼被揭露为一名在美国的俄罗斯间谍。 / 8.0 约克郡兽医特辑：彼得之梦 (T) 新剧集。镜头跟随 Peter Wright，看他如何在萨塞克斯宠物牧师和教堂的启发下，打造一座约克郡宠物纪念花园。9.0 贝尼多姆谋杀案 (T) 当一名清洁工发现尸体时，团队展开调查。 / 8.0 拟饵行动 (T) 讲述英国如何欺骗希特勒，使其认为盟军计划在 1943 年入侵希腊，从而使盟军能以最小的阻力在西西里岛登陆。9.0 科恩兄弟故事 (T) 关于电影制作人科恩兄弟的纪录片。 / 10.0 新闻 (T) 10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 10.40 《昨日》(丹尼·博伊尔, 2019) (T) 喜剧。12.30 Alan Carr 的图片大比拼 (T) (R) 1.15 天气 (T) 1.20 新闻 (T) 最新头条。 / 10.0 《红矮星号》 (T) (R) 10.30 新闻之夜 (T) 天气 11.05 谋杀审判 (T) (R) 12.05 家庭中的恶魔：露比·弗兰克的陨落 (T) (R) 12.55 手语区：救护车 (T) (R) / 10.0 新闻 (T) 天气 10.30 本地新闻 (T) 天气 10.45 《量子之在》(马克·福斯特, 2008) (T) 12.35 电视购物 3.0 峰会 (T) (R) 3.50 与 ITV 一同放松 (T) / 10.0 女学生恐怖分子？ (T) 单集纪录片。11.05 社交媒体怪物 (T) (R) 一名跟踪者寻求报复。12.10 犯罪现场清理员 (T) (R) 1.05 吉普赛妻子的秘密生活 (T) (R) / 10.0 犯罪现场的杀手 (T) (R) 犯罪纪录片。11.05 泰晤士河中的尸体 (T) (R) 关于 2001 年发现的一名被谋杀儿童的案件。12.05 街头警察：抓捕 Yoke (T) (R) 纪录片。 / 10.0 《内向的刘易因·戴维斯》 (伊桑·科恩, 乔尔·科恩, 2013) (T) 剧情片。11.40 《电梯》(戈登·帕克斯, 1971) (T) 犯罪剧情片。1.15 韦恩赖特徒步 (T) 1.45 拟饵行动 (T)

周五 14

弗兰克·斯金纳 (Frank Skinner)：30年污垢 (30 Years of Dirt)，Sky One 频道，晚上 9 点 这位喜剧演员在沃尔瑟姆斯托 (Walthamstow) 的 Sobo 剧院舞台上进行现场录制

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 早安节目 (Breakfast) (T) 9.30 动物公园 (Animal Park) (T) (R) 10.0 追踪、寻找，找回我的车 (Trace, Track, Get My Car Back) (T) (R) 10.30 2026年伯明翰欧洲田径锦标赛 (T) 1.15 新闻 (T) 天气 1.40 地区新闻 (T) 天气 1.50 新闻 (T) 天气 2.0 理发师谜案 (The Hairdresser Mysteries) (T) 2.45 逃往乡村 (Escape to the Country) (T) (R) 3.30 修理铺 (The Repair Shop) (T) (R) 4.30 答案赛 (The Answer Run) (T) 5.15 无用之用 (Pointless) (T) (R) 6.0 新闻 (T) 天气 6.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 7.0 20周年特别节目 (The One Show at 20) (T)	11.15 锤下房产 (Homes Under the Hammer) (T) (R) 12.15 淘宝猎人 (Bargain Hunt) (T) (R) 10.0 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (Richard Osman's House of Games) (T) (R) 1.30 终点线 (The Finish Line) (T) (R) 2.15 你了解你的位置吗？ (Do You Know Your Place?) (T) (R) 2.45 大裂谷：非洲的狂野之心 (The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart) (T) (R) 3.45 大裂谷：非洲的狂野之心 (The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart) (T) (R) 4.35 复古古董路演 (Vintage Antiques Roadshow) (T) (R) 5.15 标记它！ (Flag It!) (T) (R) 6.0 理查德·奥斯曼的游戏屋 (Richard Osman's House of Games) (T) (R) 6.30 贝尔·格里尔斯：狂野清算 (Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning) (T) (R) 7.0 欧洲田径锦标赛 (T)	6.0 英国早安 (Good Morning Britain) (T) 10.0 此时此刻 (This Morning) (T) 1.30 新闻 (T) 天气 1.55 当地新闻 (T) 天气 2.0 迪金森的真实交易 (Dickinson's Real Deal) (T) (R) 3.0 成交或不成交 (Deal or No Deal) (T) (R) 4.0 关键点 (Bringing Point) (T) (R) 问答赛。5.0 追逐 (The Chase) (T) (R) Sacula, Vicky, Sophy 和 Paul 参加。6.0 当地新闻 (T) 天气 6.30 新闻 (T) 天气 7.30 阿比·克兰西：名人住宅 (Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes) (T) (R) 阿比访问了 Olivia Bowen 和 Emma Thynn 的家。	6.30 皇后之王 (The King of Queens) (T) (R) 7.45 每个人都爱雷蒙 (Everybody Loves Raymond) (T) (R) 9.10 弗雷泽 (Frasier) (T) (R) 11.10 地狱厨房美国版 (Kitchen Nightmares USA) (T) (R) 12.05 新闻 (T) 12.10 寻找、修复、标记 (Find It, Fix It, Flag It) (T) (R) 1.10 豪宅赠送 (The Great House Giveaway) (T) (R) 2.10 倒计时 (Countdown) (T) 3.0 阳光之所 (A Place in the Sun) (T) (R) 4.0 与 Penelope Keith 共救乡村住宅 (Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith) (T) (R) 5.0 城堡 DIY (Chateau DIY) (T) (R) 6.0 美国淘金者 (American Pickers) (T) (R) 揭晓美国最古老的体育用品店之一的藏品。7.0 新闻 (T)	6.0 Mikshake! 9.15 杰里米·Vine (Jeremy Vine) (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 新闻 (T) 12.50 马特·奥尔赖特 (Matt Allwright) (T) 2.20 《我丈夫的七任妻子》(The My Husband's Seven Wives) (Louise Alston, 2024) (T) 由 Kristi Mombok 主演的惊悚片。4.0 城堡 (Castle) (T) (R) 4.55 热爱自然 (Love Nature) (T) (R) 5.0 新闻 (T) 6.0 伊比萨：地中海之珠 (Ibius: Jewel of the Med) (T) (R) 访问以夜生活和丰富文化历史著称的巴利阿里群岛。6.55 新闻 (T) 7.0 汤姆·里德·威尔逊的壮丽之旅 (Tom Read Wilson's Magnificent Journey) (T) (R) 7.55 新闻 (T) 头条。	7.0 逍遥音乐会：贝多芬第七交响曲 (Beethoven's Seventh at the Proms) (T) Gustavo Duolamei 带领洛杉矶爱乐乐团在二十多年来首次亮相 Proms，演出贝多芬和 Ortiz 的作品。
	8.0 2026年伯明翰欧洲田径锦标赛 (T) Jeannine Rodley 在亚历山大体育场主持第五天开幕赛的报道，七项全能赛在 100 米栏和跳高项目中拉开帷幕。	8.0 花园世界 (Gardeners' World) (T) 随着干旱对 Longmeadow 造成影响，Monty Don 对他的花园进行了盘点。9.0 贝尔热拉克 (Bergerac) (T) 关于 Cata 谋杀案的一个真相改变了一切。9.45 Q! XL (T) (R) Rose Matafeo, Los Sanders 和 Ross Noble 参加了这场问答赛。	8.0 艾默代尔 (Emmerdale) (T) Lewis 用一个宣布给 Kev 带来了惊喜。8.30 街道冠冕 (Coronation Street) (T) Lucy 的出现引发了街道上的冲突。9.0 想成为百万富翁？名人特辑 (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity Special) (T) (R) 由 Steph McGovern 和 Dion Dublin 主持。	8.0 超富豪的医疗秘密 (Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich) (T) Emma 有一个

花费 £9,500 的纳米脂肪治疗以改善她的眼下阴影。

9.0 《8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown》 (T) (R) Jon Richardson 和 Robin Conaty 对阵 Rob Beckett 和 Kelli Smith-Bynne。 | 8.0 《Alexander Armstrong in Sri Lanka》 (T) (R) Alexander 前往印度洋的天堂之岛，探索其金色沙滩和历史文化。 9.0 《1975年大干旱》 (T) (R) 一场持续 16 个月的破纪录极端天气。 | 8.35 《TOTP: 2000》 嘉宾包括 Geri Halliwell, Tom Jones, Stereophonics, Five, Lene Martin 等。 9.05 《TOTP: 2000》 Gail Porter 主持流行音乐排行榜节目。 9.35 《TOTP: 1985》 (T) 音乐表演由 UB40 与 Christie Hyde, Madonna 和 Kate Bush 带来。 | | 10.0 新闻 (T) 10.30 地区新闻 (T) 天气 10.40 《Ann Droid》 (T) 喜剧。 11.10 《母亲的直觉》(Bernat Delhomme, 2024) (T) 安妮·海瑟薇主演。 12.40 天气 (T) 12.45 新闻 (T) | 10.30 《Newsnight》 (T) 天气 11.05 《The Tons of the Lords》(Laura Carreira, 2024) (T) 首播：由 Joana Santos 和 Inés Vaz 主演的剧集。 12.45 《Sign Zone: The Rapture》 (T) (R) 心理惊悚片。 | 10.0 《阿曼达·诺克斯的扭曲故事》 (T) 11.0 新闻 (T) 天气 11.35 当地新闻 (T) 天气 11.50 《Inside the Langhams: Britain's First Grand Hotel》 (T) (R) 纪录片。 | 10.0 《Big Fat Quiz: Best Bits》 (T) Sarah Millican: Chatterbox Live (T) (R) 脱口秀演出。 12.10 《Bill Bailey Live: Part 1roll》 (T) (R) 1.35 《拉姆齐的酒店噩梦》 (T) (R) Infalms。 2.25 《Four in a Bed》 (T) (R) | 10.30 《皮尔斯·摩根：无审查》 (T) 新闻与辩论。 12.05 《Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law》 (T) (R) 1.0 《Cruise TV with Lovett Book》 (T) (R) 2.0 《5频道娱乐新闻》 (T) | 10.05 《TOTP: 1986》 (T) 10.35 《BBC终极翻唱集》 (T) 11.35 《BBC终极翻唱集 第二卷》 (T) 1.35 《TOTP: 2000》 2.05 《TOTP: 2000》 2.35 《TOTP: 1985》 (T) |

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[页脚：网站 observer.co.uk，日期 2026年8月9日，页码 39]

周六 15

失落的世界：文明的黎明，第四频道，晚上 8 点 Bettany Hughes 访问 Karuhan Tepe 和 Gibbeli Tepe / BBC One / BBC Two / ITV1 / 第四频道 / 5 / BBC Four / --- / 6.0 早餐 (T) 10.0 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) 开幕赛。 1.30 新闻 (T) 1.40 天气 (T) 1.45 讨价还价猎寻 (T) (R) 2.30 1.50 《逃离鸡舍》(Peter Lord, Nick Park, 2000) (T) 由梅尔·吉布森配音的动画喜剧。 3.50 逃往乡村 (T) (R) 4.35 花园救援 (T) (R) 5.20 新闻 (T) 5.30 地区新闻 (T) 5.45 热门名单 (T) 6.30 Alan Carr 的图片大比拼 (T) / 6.05 儿童电视 (T) 8.30 园艺世界 (T) (R) 9.30 Bredingrove 花园 (T) 10.0 周六厨房精选 (T) 11.30 Anna Haag 的爱尔兰美食之旅 (T) (R) 12.0 Lorraine Pascale：如何成为更好的厨师 (T) (R) 12.30 锤下之屋 (T) (R) 1.30 体操：2026 年欧洲锦标赛 (T) 女性赛事第三日的报道。 5.301.50 《水手 III》(Richard Lester, 1983) (T) 7.30 在逍遥音乐会上庆祝格雷斯兰 (T) / 6.0 James Martin 的法国冒险 (T) (R) 6.30 James Martin 的美国冒险 (T) (R) 7.30 与 Alan Titchman 共度你的周末 (T) (R) 9.25 新闻 (T) 9.30 ITV 赛马：开幕秀 (T) 10.30 James Martin 的周六早晨 (T) (R) 1.0 新闻 (T) 天气 1.15 ITV 赛马：纽伯里现场 (T) 4.0 1.50 《汽车制造商》(Lewis Gilbert, 1976) (T) 6.30 新闻 (T) 天气 6.45 当地新闻 (T) 7.0 成交或不成交：名人特辑 (T) / 6.05 欢呼 (T) (R) 7.55 大家都爱雷蒙 (T) (R) 9.55 弗雷泽 (T) (R) 11.25 辛普森一家 (T) (R) 1.55 四人同床 (T) (R) 4.30 George Clarke 的神奇空间 (T) (R) 5.30 宏伟设计 (T) (R) 整体疗法师 Kara 和电工 Jonny 在西约克郡的屋顶高地建造了一栋由石头和锌制成的四卧室住宅。 6.30 新闻 (T) 7.0 Sandi D863 (T) 隐藏的奇迹 (T) (R) Sandi 和 Rakshub 加入了 Cookham Abbey 遗址的挖掘工作。 / 6.0 Mikshak 9.05 5 频道娱乐新闻 (T) 9.20 阳光下的讨价还价之爱 (T) (R) 9.50 皇家宫殿的秘密 (T) (R) 10.45 约克郡最豪华的酒店：Grantey Hall (T) (R) 12.40 皇室未删减版 (T) 1.40 与 Helen, Jules & Jill 的海岸冒险 (T) (R) 3.35 约克郡兽医：在荒原与山谷的十年 (T) (R) 5.0 Iron Dodd：60 年的欢笑 (T) (R) 6.55 新闻 (T) 7.0 萨塞克斯：南海岸之珠 (T) / 7.0自然世界：非洲狮王 (T) 重新审视学会捕食大象的非洲狮。 7.05地球生命 (T) 探讨哺乳动物的血统如何可以追溯到近 2 亿 年前。 / 7.15 欧洲田径锦标赛：伯明翰 2026 (T) Gatsby Logan 在伯明翰的亚历山大体育场报道第六日晚间赛，包括男女 4x100 米决赛。 / 8.30 TOTP：2003 年大热曲 (T) 嘉宾包括 Beyoncé, Sugababes, Coldplay, Outland, Girls About, the Darkness, Miss-Teep, Madonna 以及 Gary Jules & Michael Andrews。 9.30 TOTP：2003 年的故事 (T) Mel Giedroy：讲述该年度的音乐回顾。 / 8.01.50 《天幕杀机》(Sam Mendes, 2012) (T) 詹姆斯·邦德追捕一起针对 MI6 恐怖袭击背后的主谋，并发现了一名心怀复仇之心的前特工。由 Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem 和 Ralph Fennes 主演的动作惊悚片。 / 8.0Bettany Hughes 的失落的世界：文明的黎明 (T) 第二部分。这位历史学家追溯文明本身的起源。 9.0**独裁者：

《希特勒访谈录》 (T) 曾与希特勒相识的人们回忆他如何带领德国走向失败与灾难。该系列最后一集。 / 8.0安妮公主：打破王室常规者 (T) (R) 安妮公主的人物传记，听取为其工作的人员的讲述。 9.30王室继承人与备胎：竞争与怨恨 (T) (R) 探讨继承人及其兄弟姐妹之间关系的纪录片。 / 8.0发现之旅 (T) 1935. 年对美国斯波尔丁号（USS Spalding）船员的救援。该系列最后一集。 9.0喀布尔 (T) 新剧集。由 Sherwin Ahmadi 主演的阿富汗战争剧。 9.50喀布尔 (T) 塔利班接管，难民在法国大使馆外等待。 / 10.0 新闻 (T) 10.15 天气 (T) 10.201.50 《碟中谍》（布莱恩·德帕尔玛，1996） (T) 由汤姆·克鲁斯主演的惊悚片。 12.05 未来一周天气预报 (T) 12.10 新闻 (T) / 10.30 碧昂丝在 BBC (T) (R) 11.0Sugababes 在 2024 年格拉斯顿伯里音乐节 (T) (R) 11.401.50 《毕业生》（迈克·尼科尔斯，1967） (T) 喜剧。 1.25标志区域：你认为你是谁？ (T) (R) / 10.40 新闻 (T) 天气 11.0《楼梯》 (T) 迈克及其家人的挣扎。 12.10英格兰足球联赛集锦 (T) 1.30 电视购物 3.0 冷案法医：血缘之中 (T) / 10.0协和客机坠毁：震惊世界的日子 (T) 11.01.50 《不能承受的才华之重》（汤姆·戈米坎，2022） (T) 1.01.50 《独白》（Alejandro Landes，2019） (T) 剧情片。 / 11.05 当直播电视出现 Hornby 式错误时 (T) (R) 1.0与 LovelBooM 一起巡航电视 (T) (R) 2.0 全科医生：闭门之后 (T) (R) 2.50 头等舱环游世界 (T) (R) / 10.45《天生贵族》 (T) 11.15《维持体面》11.45蓬松发、蜂巢头与鲍勃头：塑造英国的 Hampas (T) 12.45《地球生命》 (T) 1.40 发现之旅 (T)

7.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 7.15 《前排》(Front Row) 8.0 《自担风险》(At Your Own Peril) | 广播 9 6.30am 早报 9.30 经典精选 1.0 古典现场 4.0 本周作曲家：蒙哥马利 5.0 协调 (In Tune) 7.0 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 10.0 夜间轨道 11.30 午夜时分 12.30 彻夜之歌 | 广播 10 6.30am 早报 9.30 周六早晨 12.0 早些时候...与工具荷兰 1.0 关键变化：广播3古典音乐核心历史 2.0 唱片评论 4.0 电影之声 5.0 古典生活 6.0 音乐星球 7.0 新一代艺术家 7.30 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 9.45 音乐对话 10.30 新音乐节目 12.30 彻夜之歌 | | 周二 广播 3 6.30am 早报 9.30 经典精选 1.0 古典现场 4.0 本周作曲家：蒙哥马利 5.0 协调 (In Tune) 7.0 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 10.0 夜间轨道 11.30 午夜时分 12.30 彻夜之歌 | 广播 4 6.0am 今日 9.0 外部悬挂：为经典挺身而出 9.30 吉他故事 10.0 女性时间 11.0 儿童三个阶段 11.45 本周书籍：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》 12.0 新闻 12.04 伤痕秘密 12.32 切片面包 1.0 世界 1.45 人类智能 2.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 2.15 戏剧：安全 3.0 自然生活 3.27 广播4呼吁 3.30 反馈 4.0 简报室 4.30 BBC内部科学 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 7.15 《前排》(Front Row) 8.0 《自担风险》(At Your Own Peril) | 广播 5 6.0am 今日 9.0 外部悬挂：为经典挺身而出 9.30 吉他故事 10.0 女性时间 11.0 儿童三个阶段 11.45 本周书籍：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》 12.0 新闻 12.04 伤痕秘密 12.32 切片面包 1.0 世界 1.45 人类智能 2.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 2.15 戏剧：安全 3.0 自然生活 3.27 广播4呼吁 3.30 反馈 4.0 简报室 4.30 BBC内部科学 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 7.15 《前排》(Front Row) 8.0 《自担风险》(At Your Own Peril) | 广播 6 6.0am 今日 9.0 外部悬挂：为经典挺身而出 9.30 吉他故事 10.0 女性时间 11.0 儿童三个阶段 11.45 本周书籍：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》 12.0 新闻 12.04 伤痕秘密 12.32 切片面包 1.0 世界 1.45 人类智能 2.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 2.15 戏剧：安全 3.0 自然生活 3.27 广播4呼吁 3.30 反馈 4.0 简报室 4.30 BBC内部科学 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 《弓箭手》(The Archer's) 7.15 《前排》(Front Row) 8.0 《自担风险》(At Your Own Peril) | 广播 7 6.30am 早报 9.30 经典精选 1.0 古典现场 4.0 本周作曲家：蒙哥马利 5.0 协调 (In Tune) 7.0 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 10.0 夜间轨道 11.30 午夜时分 12.30 彻夜之歌 | 广播 8 6.30am 早报 9.30 周六早晨 12.0 早些时候...与工具荷兰 1.0 关键变化：广播3古典音乐核心历史 2.0 唱片评论 4.0 电影之声 5.0 古典生活 6.0 音乐星球 7.0 新一代艺术家 7.30 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 9.45 音乐对话 10.30 新音乐节目 12.30 彻夜之歌 | | | | 周二 广播 3 6.30am 早报 9.30 经典精选 1.0 古典现场 4.0 本周作曲家：

Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 2026年BBC逍遥音乐会 (BBC Proms 2026) 10.0 夜间轨道 (Night Tracks) 11.30 午夜时分 (Round Midnight) 12.30 彻夜 (Through the Night) | Radio 4 6.0am 今日 (Today) 9.0 外部悬挂：捍卫经典 (Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics) 9.30 吉他故事 (The Guitar Story) 10.0 女性时间 (Woman's Hour) 11.0 儿童三个阶段 (The Three Ages of Child) 11.45 本周之书：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》(Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir) 12.0 新闻 (News) 12.04 伤痕秘密 (Scars Secrets) 12.32 切片面包 (Sliced Bread) 1.0 世界 (The World) 1.45 人类智能 (Human Intelligence) 2.0 弓箭手 (The Archer's) 2.15 戏剧：安全 (Drama: Security) 3.0 自然生活 (The Natural Life) 3.27 Radio 4 呼吁 (Radio 4 Appeal) 3.30 反馈 (Feedback) 4.0 简报室 (The Briefing Room) 4.30 BBC 内部科学 (BBC Inside Science) 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 (Six O'Clock News) 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 弓箭手 (The Archer's) 7.15 前排 (Front Row) 8.0 风险自担 (At Your Own Peril) | Radio 5 6.0am 今日 (Today) 9.0 外部悬挂：捍卫经典 (Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics) 9.30 吉他故事 (The Guitar Story) 10.0 女性时间 (Woman's Hour) 11.0 儿童三个阶段 (The Three Ages of Child) 11.45 本周之书：《广岛，8.15：失落的回忆录》(Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir) 12.0 新闻 (News) 12.04 伤痕秘密 (Scars Secrets) 12.32 切片面包 (Sliced Bread) 1.0 世界 (The World) 1.45 人类智能 (Human Intelligence) 2.0 弓箭手 (The Archer's) 2.15 戏剧：安全 (Drama: Security) 3.0 自然生活 (The Natural Life) 3.27 Radio 4 呼吁 (Radio 4 Appeal) 3.30 反馈 (Feedback) 4.0 简报室 (The Briefing Room) 4.30 BBC 内部科学 (BBC Inside Science) 5.0 下午 (PM) 6.0 六点新闻 (Six O'Clock News) 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 弓箭手 (The Archer's) 7.15 前排 (Front Row) 8.0 风险自担 (At Your Own Peril) | Radio 6 6.0am 新闻与报纸 (News and Papers) 6.07 这种自然生活 (This Natural Life) 6.30 今日农业本周 (Farming Today This Week) 7.0 今日 (Today) 9.0 反主流文化怎么了？(What Happened to Counter-Culture?) 9.30 文档怎么了？(What's Up Docs?) 10.0 你对我来说已经死了 (You're Dead to Me) 10.30 灵魂音乐 (Soul Music) 11.0 激进 (Radical) 11.30 来自我们的特派记者 (From Our Own Correspondent) 12.0 新闻 (News) 12.04 祝酒 (Toast) 12.30 人民已发声 (The People Have Spoken) 1.0 新闻 (News) 1.10 有任何问题吗？(Any Questions?) 2.05 有任何答案吗？(Any Answers?) 2.45 弓箭手 (The Archer's) 3.0 戏剧：分岔路口：巅峰之战 (Drama: Fork in the Road: Chorie on Top) 4.0 周末女性时间 (Weekend Woman's Hour) 5.0 周六下午 (Saturday PM) 5.30 不安 (Unsettled) 5.54 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 6.0 六点新闻 (Six O'Clock News) 6.15 松散的末端 (Loose Ends) 7.0 最后的词：以不同方式面对死亡 (Last Word Doing Death Differently) 7.15 改变赔率 (Changing the Odds) 8.0 档案：田野引用，超越革命 (Archive on A Field Quotes Beyond La Revolution) 9.0 塑造绿色运动的十个夜晚 (Ten Nights That Made the Green Movement) 10.0 新闻 (News) 10.15 食品节目 (The Food Programme) 11.0 Dips-Koch OK Computer 11.30 英国之脑 (Brain of Britain) 12.0 午夜新闻 (Midnight News) 12.15 四本书 (Take Four Books) 12.48 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 1.0 BBC 世界服务 (As BBC World Service) 5.30 新闻摘要 (News Summary) 5.34 航运预报 (Shipping Forecast) 5.43 周日之钟 (Bells on Sunday) 5.45 保持联系 (In Touch)

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[页码 40] [网站地址：observer.co.uk] [日期：2026年8月9日]

评论家 (Critics)

电视

种植园恐怖片 《Possession》是电视版的《Sinners》

Barbara Ellen

Possession Sky Atlantic / Now Alley Cats Netflix The Shards Disney+

“体现了这座岛屿历史之美与之痛”：下方的卡拉·克罗姆（Karla Crome）作品《Possession》。插图为戴安·摩根（Diane Morgan）在瑞基·热维斯（Ricky Gervais）那部“糟糕透顶”的《Alley Cats》中为 Olive 配音。

Des Millie

与许多哥特式惊悚片一样，卡拉·克罗姆的《Possession》以一座阴森的旧房子为背景。不同之处在于，这座名为“希望之丘”（Hope Hill）的房子位于牙买加一个前奴隶主的种植园内。愤世嫉俗的律师克劳迪娅（Claudia，古古·姆巴塔-罗 饰）——一名具有牙买加血统的英国女性，当她的老板说她被选中是为了“视觉效果”时，她几乎没有眨眼——被派到那里去处理遗产继承的复杂问题。希望之丘的所有者已去世，但他没有将价值 5000 万英镑 的遗产留给儿子奥利弗（Oliver，乔尼·李·米勒 饰），而是将其遗赠给了一位名叫库乔·伊斯特（Cudjoe East，谢尔顿·谢泼德 饰）的神秘当地人，后者告诉克劳迪娅他已经 300 岁以上，且曾在该种植园被奴役。

随着由牙买加电影制作人斯通·索特（Storm Sautter）紧凑执导的五集剧集展开，这个复杂的前提变得更加丰富。该剧设定在现代牙买加和 18 世纪的种植园之间，两条时间线在诡异且未曾改变的房子中碰撞。在 1760 年代，是残酷的奴隶制恐怖；而在现代（剧透预警），克劳迪娅释放了邪恶的种植园女主人夏洛特（Charlotte，贝尔·波利 饰）的灵魂，后者利用一种名为 obeah 的类巫毒力量将人们僵尸化。《Possession》探讨了许多主题——殖民主义、赔偿、种族遗产——但超自然元素并未被忽视，其中包含令人毛骨悚然的法术、蚊群、人们被猛力撞向天花板等情节。

在牙买加艺术家莉拉·艾克（Lila Ike）那首令人心碎的主题曲《Where I'm Coming From》以及动人心弦的配乐助力下，《Possession》体现了这座岛屿历史之美与之痛。正如演员的表演无懈可击（姆巴塔-罗、波利和米勒都贡献了职业生涯最佳表现）一样，剧本也充满了大胆的张力。很难相信这是克罗姆作为剧集创作者的处女作（她同时也是一名演员，作品包括《Am I Being Unreasonable?》）。在某些时刻，该剧显得有些模糊，而且一个重要的政治观点——即在废奴后，英国政府向奴隶主（而非被奴役者）提供了一笔 2000 万英镑 的贷款作为补偿，纳税人直到 2015 年才还清这笔钱——其传达方式显得笨拙。这部剧如果采用更精简的电影形式可能会效果更好。在这里，它是瑞安·库格勒（Ryan Coogler）的《Sinners》和乔丹·皮尔（Jordan Peele）的《Get Out》等电影的电视版亲戚：一部紧张、智能的关于种族的现代恐怖剧，旨在让你躲在沙发垫后面。

《Alley Cats》是一部关于流浪猫的六集成人动画（每集 15 分钟）。由瑞基·热维斯编写、创作并共同执导（另一位导演是动画师埃利奥特·迪尔）。它借鉴了热维斯对动物的热爱，并拥有他喜欢合作的演员阵容，包括戴安·摩根、汤姆·巴斯登（Tom Basden）和戴维·厄尔（David Earl）。我直接说结论：它糟糕透顶。问题不在于动画风格，那种老派风格就像是翻新版的《Top Cat》。问题在于故事——或者说根本没有故事。充满希望的开场展示了理想化的英国乡村，耶路撒冷（Jerusalem）的旋律在树篱间回荡，然后镜头聚焦在猫帮居住的一栋废弃房子里。这些小猫主要就是闲逛和闲聊。热维斯饰演的 Gus 被画成了一个山寨版加菲猫；巴斯登饰演的 Ponce 因为有爱它的主人且被阉割而遭到嘲笑；摩根饰演的是神游的 Olive；厄尔饰演的是性堕落者 Peke，以此类推。剧本由大量针对各种话题（气候危机、AI、自杀式袭击者）的伪前卫即兴发挥组成，而幽默感则毫无笑点，粗俗且 90% 都是脏话。

而在其他方面，《Alley Cats》试图追求那种大写的“感人”（moving），但坦率地说，自从瑞基·热维斯在其杰作《办公室》中让蒂姆把美术套装送给多恩以来，他就再也没能成功塑造出令人动容的时刻。由乔·哈特利饰演的一只小猫反复沉思死亡，让人想起热维斯的《来世》（Afterlife）。而在其他时候，则充斥着关于生命值得活下去的感伤泥淖。这太令人沮丧了：一部关于不良猫类的动画本可以非常精彩。此外，成人动画可以是一种如此超现实且具有解放感的媒介；看看由《发展受阻》的威尔·阿内特主演、同样在奈飞上线的《马男波杰克》就知道了。剧中确实有一些笑点——比如一只猫仅仅为了烦人而撞翻花盆，或者其他被猫薄荷搞得晕晕乎乎的猫——但总的来说，《Alley Cats》粗俗、重复，对于像热维斯这样能力的人来说，简直懒惰得令人震惊。

《碎片》是一部华丽且超现实的九集剧集，由瑞安·墨菲创作，改编自布雷特·伊斯顿·埃利斯 2023 年的自传体小说。该剧讲述了一群生活富裕的 1981 年洛杉矶青少年在面对各种噩梦（包括一个被称为“拖网渔船手”的连环杀手）时的故事。伊格比·里格尼饰演布雷特（作者的化身），一个深柜同性恋男子，其旁白中流露出浓浓的倦怠感。那些看起来失控的“星二代”选角，可能是一种巧妙的连接机制，旨在呼应 20 世纪 80 年代的偶像：辛迪·克劳馥的模特兼演员女儿凯亚·格伯饰演完美的苏珊，而霍默·格尔（理查德之子，克劳馥的前伴侣）则饰演神秘且可能危险的新来者罗伯特。伊斯顿-埃利斯被列为共同创作者和编剧，《碎片》忠实于他那种冷静客观的基调，并包含了对琼·迪迪恩和《闪灵》的文化引用。剧中还回响着那个时期的恐怖电影风格。那些不称职的成年人包括饰演一名沮丧的好莱坞家庭主妇的埃文·瑞秋·伍德（她对女儿说：“你是我生命中的失望”），以及饰演一名安迪·沃霍尔式助手的乔丹·罗斯。书出版时，有人认为“拖网渔船手”是对艾滋病的隐喻，但这在剧集中并不明显。结局感觉过于简单，而且虽然出现了预料之中的 80 年代颓废风（毒品、酒精、吸烟、物质主义），但在经历了《激烈竞争》（Heated Rivalry）之后的今天，一些同性恋情爱戏似乎克制得奇怪（难道是《温吞竞争》？）。尽管如此，对话依然干脆利落（例如“你是个像心电图直线一样软弱的人”；可卡因“简直就是一种维生素”），音乐律动感强（杜兰杜兰乐队占据很大比重），演员们的表情则傲慢至极，仿佛他们因为态度糟糕而被某部约翰·休斯电影集体解雇了一样。《碎片》极其自得，但确实非常有趣。

观看清单

芭芭拉·艾伦（Barbara Ellen）推荐的其他佳作

《泰德·拉索》（Ted Lasso）（Apple TV+） 这部极受欢迎且充满温情的杰森·苏戴基斯（Jason Sudeikis）（见下图）足球喜剧回归。这一次，美国教练泰德（苏戴基斯 饰）负责管理一支女子球队。汉娜·瓦丁汉姆（Hannah Waddingham）和塔尼娅·雷诺兹（Tanya Reynolds）共同主演。

《大鸡：快餐阴谋》（Big Chicken: A Fast Food Conspiracy）（Netflix） 一部纪录片，莫·吉利根（Mo Gilligan）连续 28 天每天吃三次炸鸡以观察其影响，类似于摩根·斯普洛克（Morgan Spurlock）在 2004 年电影《超级尺寸我》（Super Size Me）中对麦当劳快餐所做的实验。吉利根还调查了养殖方法。

《埃尔维斯、上校与黑手党》（Elvis, the Colonel and the Mob）（Channel 4） 一部纪录系列剧，聚焦于歌手埃尔维斯·普雷斯利（Elvis Presley）职业生涯后期的拉斯维加斯驻场演出，并探讨其经纪人汤姆·帕克上校（Colonel Tom Parker）与黑手党之间的联系。

“它涉及许多主题——殖民主义、赔偿、种族遗产——但超自然元素也没有被忽视”

From £2.40 for subscribers Sunday 9 August 2026 | www.observer.co.uk | No 12, 244 | £4.50 (IR €5.00)

THE OBSERVER

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Tragedy on Broad Peak

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THE OBSERVER VIEW

Epic failure

Six months of war with Iran have proved one thing: bombing can destroy, but only diplomacy can deliver

When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed nearly six months ago, there was dancing in Tehran, and not just among his critics. Loyal subjects of the Islamic revolution danced too (see News, page 24). Khamenei led a murderous regime. As news of his death spread, millions felt a sense of hope, encouraged by the United States they had been taught to hate.

Hope is scarce now. The war begun by the US and Israel on 28 February has brought death but not regime change. Iran's theocrats look more determined than ever to cling to power. Politicians who pass for moderates in Tehran have been sidelined. Iranians who dared to dream are crushed. The Strait of Hormuz is blocked. Oil and food prices are up around the world. The US has depleted its stockpiles of air defence interceptors, leaving few for Kyiv, Moldova, Taiwan or anyone else who wants to buy them. Washington has misjudged its adversary, squandered international respect and handed Tehran, which controls the strait, a strategic weapon more powerful than anything it could have mounted on a missile.

President Trump has claimed 38 times, by CNN's count, to be close to a deal with Iran and turned out to be wrong. Seven times he has called off major attacks in the hope an agreement might finally be signed. His outriders are left to make fools of themselves. On Tuesday his treasury secretary claimed the US was in talks with Iran and a deal could come within hours. Iran retorted that the only talks in progress were with Oman. Trump has said of Iran's leaders: 'They just make me angry.' He just makes them more determined to cling to power.

A fair assessment of Trump's foreign policy is almost impossible. It's a constantly moving target, more posturing than policy, based on frustrations and fantasies rather than facts. But as an expression of the will of the most powerful elected official on earth, it deserves to be judged by its results.

Critics of this war should acknowledge four realities. First, American-led sanctions and US and Israeli military action against Iran

and its proxies led to a moment of weakness for the regime in January this year. When huge crowds thronged the streets of most major cities to protest against the state of the economy, it was reasonable to hope, as Trump did, that the theocracy's stranglehold on power might be loosened at last.

Second, he tried to make that happen. His chosen method – aerial bombardment – has failed, as he was told it would. It has killed thousands of innocents, including children, and left the regime, its nuclear ambitions and its missile threat intact. But in Tehran, as in Venezuela, he decapitated a loathsome regime, and for a brief moment millions who had been oppressed rejoiced.

Third, the chaos that has followed hurts Iran's neighbours, but it hurts Iran too. The US blockade of its ports means Iran cannot export oil. The IMF estimates that Iran's economy will shrink by 6% this year and inflation is running at 70%.

Fourth, that economic stress could prompt a new wave of mass protest. This is unlikely given the terrifying risks for protesters, but Iran's new leaders are picking their battles, apparently wary of provoking more unrest. In Tehran, at least, eyewitnesses say religious police are no longer arresting women on sight for not wearing the hijab.

And yet it's Trump who needs the most urgent reality check. He hoped a short war would make him the first US president since 1979 to be able to dictate terms to Iran. Instead, Iran is doing the dictating. The best Washington can hope for as midterm elections loom is a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return, in terms of trade and oil prices, to 27 February.

No senior US official has met with any of Iran's supreme leaders in the 47-year life of the Islamic Republic. That is understandable given the regime's 'death to America' slogan. But if the goal is to deny Iran a nuclear weapon and achieve some sort of regional stability, outsourcing diplomacy to minor Gulf powers won't work. Barack Obama showed what could. He devoted 20 months of negotiations to the 2015 Iran nuclear accords. No lives were lost, no missiles launched, no trade bottlenecks closed, no shipping tolls levied. It was a deal Trump scorned, tore up and cannot now come close to replicating.

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

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Issue No. 12,244

Who says

Ben Zand

By January, the demonstrations had become what were probably the largest and most widespread in living memory. After initial jubilation, the crackdown in Iran came. The people we spoke to describe security forces kneeling to steady their aim, the green dots of sniper laser sights moving across crowds, hospitals stormed and injured protesters arrested in their beds. World, pages 24-25

Kenan Malik

Jason Arday has become as emblematic for certain sections of the right as he has been for academic institutions and would-be antiracists. For the one, he is the face of diversity, for the other an illustration of the surrender of academia to 'wokeness'. Many such critics dismiss minority academics as 'DEI hires' and rail against 'bogus' disciplines such as sociology. We cannot challenge such claims if we refuse to acknowledge plagiarism and fraud wherever it is found, even in the work of black scholars. To do that is to provide even more ammunition to racists and reactionaries. Forum, page 28

Kitty Empire

The Welsh musician and producer Cate Le Bon has not come dressed for a heatwave. In the sweat lodge that is the ICA's live music space, Le Bon's tight, white, long-sleeved dress gives her the vague air of a mummy bride. A plastic headdress completes the look – or suggests holy orders. Having toured in chainmail, like an art-pop Joan of Arc, and donned a nun's habit on the cover of her 2022 album Pompeii, it's impressive to see her continued commitment to striking headgear and uncomfortable get-ups. New Review, page 22

Eva Wiseman

Heat inequality hits now in bleak and violent ways, exposing class, cracks in care and the (sometimes) lie of community. While some new parents are looking into air-conditioned hotels to help their babies sleep, others are camping in parks or sitting in A&E after their toddlers pass out. Our ability to adapt to the heat depends on our income, and while leaflets about how to keep cool offer fanning potential, they're of little use, especially to those living in poverty. Magazine, page 7

Ben Bloom

In the kitchen of a neat Huddersfield bungalow hangs the silverware plunder of Britain's fastest ever nonagenarian. 'Col's Collection' – as the homemade sign reads – includes four European and four British athletics gold medals. Over the next fortnight, just before he turns 92, Colin Spivey hopes to add the first global titles to his haul when he travels to South Korea for the World Masters Championships. Sport, page 9

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

7 days

Overheard

'Football is unity'

Gianni Infantino, Fifa's president, after three continental bodies and nine national associations withdrew support for him

The week in brief

Errors left sex offender free to kill two women

A serial sex offender was found guilty on Friday of murdering two women and raping a third after a series of failures by police and prosecutors, Simon Levy, 40, killed Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later, the Old Bailey heard. Levy had convictions for attacking women dating back to 2018. The Metropolitan police downgraded him from high to medium risk in August 2024 and initially failed to treat Valencia-Trujillo's death as murder. In February, Levy was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 women on London's Tubes and trains, as well as a female prison officer. Sentencing was adjourned until Wednesday.

300 metres

The height reached by lava spewing from the Fuego volcano in Guatemala during its 50-hour eruption last week

Power cut leaves rail passengers stranded

Thousands of rail passengers faced two days of disruption on England's rail network, caused by a 90-second power outage. Many passengers were left stranded when hundreds of trains in the north-west and the Midlands came to a halt on Thursday. While the power was only briefly interrupted, Network Rail's backup power generators failed to activate immediately, with signals defaulting to red.

Meta is fined $567m over harm to children

A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567m to address harms caused to children's mental health. Judge Bryan Biedscheid also ordered the firm to make changes to its Instagram and Facebook platforms to protect young users. Thursday's ruling is in addition to a $375m fine Meta was ordered to pay in the same case in March. Biedscheid compared Meta to a factory, causing pollution that "must be abated". Meta said it worked hard to keep people safe and would appeal against the ruling.

Former neo-Nazi to advise Conservatives

A former neo-Nazi will advise the Conservatives on extremism after standing down as a local council candidate. Joshua Bonehill-Paine

Amid a shattered wartime landscape, a group of displaced Palestinian beekeepers carefully harvest the honey from hives at what remains of the al-Dabba family bee farm in Gaza City on Saturday. Jshad Abbath/APs

spent three years in prison after he was jailed in 2015 for posting antisemitic material before a planned neo-Nazi rally. He was convicted of racially harassing former Labour MP Luciana Berger the following year. Bonehill-Paine has more recently found fame as the creator of less-than-flattering deep fake videos featuring politicians including Nigel Farage and Andy Burnham. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch had initially defended his selection as a councillor, saying she "believes in second chances".

Amanda Knox takes 'comedy' to Edinburgh

Nearly 19 years after Meredith Kercher was murdered in Italy, her former flatmate Amanda Knox opened a show about the impact of the case at the Edinburgh Festival fringe. Knox, who was twice convicted of the murder and twice acquitted on appeal, had billed it as standup comedy. More than 10,000 people signed a petition calling for the show to be banned but the festival

The Observer news matrix

organisers stood by it. Reviewers were unimpressed but audiences described it as "respectful" and "emotional".

Trump claims Iran war is 'going very well'

"Iran [...] is going very well," Donald Trump wrote in a social media post last week. He meant the five-month conflict but it could also apply to the Iranian regime. Some analysts believe it is taking revenge on the US president by delaying a deal on the Strait of Hormuz until after the American midterm elections. Trump claimed that an agreement was imminent last week but, like the 30 or so times he has made similar claims, no deal materialised. Iran and Oman did agree terms on establishing a limited shipping route but the deal has yet to be signed off. An Iranian official said yesterday that the strait would open "whenever the US accepts Iran's conditions".

Thai youth kills eight in school shooting

A teenager killed his grandparents, five teachers and a student in a school shooting in Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok. The 14-year-old also injured 23 people in the attack before turning the gun on himself at Debsirin school – one of Thailand's most illustrious institutions. It is the second school shooting so far this year in a country where around one in 10 people own a gun legally and many more do so illegally. Anutin Charnvirakul, the prime minister, has promised to make it illegal for anyone except officials to carry guns in public.

Long stories short

• Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a Nato-style defence pact.
• A Kosovan MP threw an egg at the country's acting prime minister during a parliamentary debate.
• The US Senate narrowly confirmed Trump ally Todd Blanche as attorney general.
• Barack Obama performed a cameo in Larry David's sketch show.
• Scientists confirm a new species of orange-lipped monkey discovered in DRC.

Spain's total eclipse lures the crowds

Solar eclipse hunters have been flocking to Spain to see the first total eclipse in Europe since 1999. People in the UK and Ireland will see the effects of about 90% of the moon's shadow covering the sun on Wednesday evening, starting at about 6pm. The Met Office is forecasting clear skies in most parts of the UK.

On the cover

Broad Peak summit at sunset in the Karakoram range, Pakistan. Endika Larrazabal/Getty Images

Sections of The Observer are carefully collated at our print site and by newspapers. If any section of today's UK edition of The Observer is missing, call telephone 0800 839100. Back issues can be obtained from www.Notario-newspapers.co.uk or by calling 01300 669700 @ 2026 Published by Tortoso Media Limited, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP.

Printed at Newsprinters (Brookshire) Ltd, Great Cambridge Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, EN6 8DY; Beach Oldham Limited, Hollimwood Avenue, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 8EP, Discovery Point, 90 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD4 9SL; and Irish Times Print Facility, 4080 Kingswood Road, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. ISSN 0029-7712

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News

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

5

Sewage spill from failing treatment plant blights first Thames bathing area

The site was named an official bathing spot 12 weeks ago. Water samples then showed E coli colonies were six times the legal limit

Jon Ungood-Thomas News reporter

In May the first designated bathing water on the Thames opened at Ham and Kingston in south-west London. Swimmers who had campaigned for official status for the spot called it an "amazing" moment.

On Friday sunbathers lay on the grassy tree-lined banks while families strolled along the riverside walk. A group of open-water swimmers gathered in the late afternoon, launching themselves into the cool waters from a pontoon and basking in the sun, along with passing paddle-boarders and kayakers. "There is an amazing sense of community here and of being in nature," said Daniella Wilmot, 28, one of the swimmers.

It is not, however, a perfect spot. About three miles (5km) upstream is the Hogsmill sewage plant in Kingston upon Thames. On 2 June it started spilling raw sewage that

flowed down a tributary and into the bathing waters.

Official water quality sampling at Ham and Kingston on the same day found E coli colonies, which can cause sickness, had increased by more than 65 times, with 5,500 colony-forming units (CFU) for every 100ml, compared with 82 CFU/100ml on 27 May – six times the Environment Agency's (EA) 900 CFU/100ml threshold for safe inland swimming.

This most recent spill was unlikely to come as a surprise to EA officials. They had inspected the plant in May and found it in breach of its environmental permit.

The EA inspection report is one of 381 examined by The Observer from 2025 and 2026, in many cases exposing inadequate investment and avoidable sewage spills.

Heavy rain can overwhelm a sewage plant and increased storage tank volume can help reduce spills. Hogsmill had 25%-30% of the minimum onsite storage capacity required; it spilled raw sewage 14 times in 2025 for a total of 138 hours.

Thames Water pledged to upgrade Hogsmill by 2025, but more than 100 improvement works have been postponed and it may not now be completed until 2028.

The water regulator, Ofwat, is investigating the delays.

Marlene Lawrence, 63, founder of the Teddington Bluetits swimming group, said: "Hogsmill is one of the chief culprits of sewage spills that directly affect where we swim."

Former Olympic rower Ian McNuff, 69, who swims at Ham, said: "Thames Water is running a facility that's structurally incapable of meeting its permit requirements. It's a scandal that it has not been upgraded as pledged."

In November 2021 the EA and Ofwat launched an investigation into sewage treatment works and unpermitted sewage discharges. Ofwat has secured fines and enforcement packages of £300m, and the EA's criminal investigation is continuing. The EA inquiry involves most of the sewage plants in England.

The EA has also stepped up its inspections of water infrastructure, which includes more than 2,200

sewage plants in England. The Observer's review of 381 inspection reports since 1 January 2025 reveals that 110 plants were in breach of their environmental permits, including 19 operated by Thames Water. Permits set legal requirements for the

operation of a plant, covering site management, infrastructure, water treatment and raw sewage discharges. Breach of a permit can be a criminal offence.

Shareholders have withdrawn at least £70bn in dividends from the 10 water and sewage companies in England and Wales, according to analysis by Greenwich University. Campaign groups say more money should have been invested in water infrastructure, which would have reduced spills of raw sewage.

At Southern Water, an inspection

'Thames Water is running a facility that's structurally incapable of meeting permit requirements'

Ian McNuff, Olympic rower

Members of the Teddington Bluetits swim at Ham and Kingston on the Thames. Sophia Lunn/The Observer

Ian McNuff, a former Olympic rower, is critical of Thames Water, chaired by Sir Adrian Moniague, inset.

of Burwash Common, East Sussex, in November last year found untreated sewage had discharged from the site after contractors used a block of wood to keep open a pump that had then fallen out overnight. Officials said the incident indicated "a lack of competent persons and resources".

At United Utilities, officials noted at Kendal sewage works in Cumbria that the tanks were in a bad condition "with large chunks of rendering having fallen off the walls into the tank". The plant was found to be in breach of its permit because of "general management conditions".

Peter Hammond of the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, who was portrayed in Channel 4's Dirty Business, a factual drama series on the water industry, said: "Some of these sites have not seen any significant improvements for many years. We have documented a number of sites where they have been flooded with sewage because they were working so badly."

Thames Water said it informed Ofwat in August 2023 that more than 100 environmental schemes would not be delivered on time, with cost increases one of the key factors. Its spokesperson said: "Ofwat has opened an enforcement case into the delays, which is ongoing, and we are cooperating fully. We remain committed to delivering all our obligations."

A Southern Water spokesperson said permit breaches were often minor compliance matters. The company said Burwash Common was under the control of contractors when its permit was breached.

A United Utilities spokesperson said: "We take action to address [issues] as quickly as possible. Many relate to minor infringements." The company's planning works at Kendal to address the problems identified.

Water UK, which represents the industry, said the sample of inspections cited by The Observer was a small proportion of company assets, with the EA investigating those it was most concerned about. An EA spokesperson said: "Our investigation into non-compliance at wastewater treatment works is one of the largest and most complex the agency has ever undertaken. We will continue to follow up on permit breaches, put regulatory pressure on water companies and hold them to account."

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observer.co.uk^{}[] 09.08.26

News

‘Scandi wings’ offering pianos, pool and

A unit in London’s Wandsworth jail has been transformed using methods that prioritise rehabilitation over retribution. The results are striking, Rachel Sylvester writes

There is a piano for prisoners to play in the “Scandinavian” wing at Wandsworth jail in south London. The communal day room is equipped with board games, table tennis and a pool table. The library is well stocked with books, the kitchen has a toaster and the garden has raised beds, with plants from the Chelsea flower show. A gym and cafe are being created, while prison officers have plans for a fish tank. The walls have been repainted a restful pale green.

“Building better neighbours” is the motto of the unit, which is based on prisons in Sweden and Norway. There are choir sessions, dance classes, a reading group and a weekly tea party where inmates and officers discuss their concerns. Prisoners are out of their cells for up to nine hours a day, compared with two in the rest of the jail.

This wing for 143 men in one of the toughest jails in the country has been transformed as part of a first-of-its-kind experiment looking at the effectiveness of different types of prison regime. The randomised controlled trial, which the Prison Service has been running since December, is testing the impact in the criminal justice system of prioritising rehabilitation over retribution, and whether recruiting and training officers differently can transform outcomes.

In March, a similar Scandi unit was created for 61 prisoners at Pentonville prison in north London. Like Wandsworth, it is a crisis-hit old Victorian jail; a category B reception prison holding a mixture of men who have been convicted or are on remand and awaiting trial. The Nordic “unity” wing is full of house plants and all prisoners receive a card from staff on their birthday. The aim is to create some semblance of normality and prepare inmates for their release.

The interim results of the trial – which have been shared with The Observer – are striking. The Vanguard wings, as they are officially known in the Prison Service, have led to a 45% reduction in assaults, a 57% drop in self-harm and a 62% fall in disorder compared with the rest of the prison. According to the independent evaluation by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, staff sickness days have halved and retention rates are far higher than in the rest of the prison estate.

There are also almost no drugs. Andy Davy, the governor of Wandsworth, says the outcomes are “beyond expectation” and “significantly different” from other similar wings at the jail. His ambition is “to embed the model across the wider prison”, starting with the rollout of the Scandi programme to another two wings.

Andy Burnham is facing his first big public backlash as prime minister over prisons. Last week he was forced to exclude rapists and paedophiles from the government’s early release scheme, and on Thursday he ordered a review to ensure members of grooming gangs are not let out early. The Times reported yesterday that there are limits to the prime minister’s powers of exemption for grooming cases before 2003, when anti-grooming gang laws were introduced.

He is now under pressure to go further and exempt those convicted of manslaughter, including two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper, the officer who died in 2019 in Berkshire after being dragged behind the getaway car of three teenagers fleeing the scene of a crime.

His widow, Lissie, said she will “not give up” in her campaign to prevent her husband’s killers being released early. Former Det Supt Stuart Blaik of Thames Valley police, who investigated the killing, said it was “hard to understand” the case for their being let out of jail halfway,

‘You can change the prison environment in a way that means the same prisoners behave differently’

Natasha Porter, jail reformer

rather than two-thirds, through their 13-year sentences.

Burnham said he cannot add further restrictions to the early release scheme without risking “the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months”. Last week, the male prison estate in England and Wales was at 98% capacity, with fewer than 2,000 spaces left. Projections suggest jails could be full by November.

Attention has focused on who is in prison, and for how long, but just as important is what happens to prisoners when they are behind bars. Many of the approximately 86,500 people in prison in England and Wales are locked up for 23 hours a day in chaotic, dirty and overcrowded jails, with no time for education or work. The chances of rehabilitation in such a system are slim. According to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures, about a third of prisoners – and two-thirds of those serving sentences of less than a year – reoffend after they leave jail.

The Vanguard wings have deliberately been set up in two

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tea parties could help solve prison crisis

Photographs by Neville Elder

Left, UK officers with the trial's founder, Natasha Porter, visit the Little Scandinavia prison wing in Pennsylvania. Below left, US prisoners doing chores. Top right, one of the wing's resident cats.

of the most challenging jails in the country. Wandsworth and Pentonville have both been put into special measures in recent years and suffer from high rates of violence, self-harm, vermin and security problems.

Prisoners are randomly allocated to the Scandi units, rather than being given a place as a reward for good behaviour, and the trial includes many of the most violent and dangerous men, including some who have previously assaulted staff. The running costs and the ratio of staff to prisoners are identical to the rest of the jail, although each wing received a £10,000 "setup" grant.

But the main difference is the staff. The prison officers working on the Vanguard wings are selected on the basis of their commitment

to turning offenders' lives around. Officers have had training based on the more rehabilitative Scandinavian approach to jails. They spent five days in a Swedish prison, and last month some visited the Little Scandinavia wing at State Correctional Institution (SCI) Chester in the US state of Pennsylvania, which has cats and dogs, a zen garden, a therapy room, a cappuccino machine and an air fryer.

The trial was designed by Unlocked Graduates, a prison reform charity that recruits high-flying graduates into jails, to test its model. Natasha Porter, the charity's founder, says: "All we've done is more effectively recruit, train and support staff. I think it's quite hard for people to believe it's that simple.

The real thing it's proving is that a prison can't outperform the quality of its staff."

The lesson from Scandinavia is that "more time out of cell makes the prison safer if that time is spent purposefully and there are better professional relationships between prisoners and staff," Porter adds. "There are some really difficult prisoners in both the London wings. But we are proving that you can change the environment of a prison in a way that means the same prisoners can behave completely differently. These prisoners aren't being mollycoddled, but they have prison officers who are working to support them not to commit crime."

Morale on the Vanguard wings is much higher than in the rest of the jails among staff and prisoners. One

officer working on the Scandi unit at Pentonville says: "I used to count the minutes until my next break. Now I spend my lunch on the landing observing my colleagues to improve my practice." A prisoner on the same wing, who has been in dozens of jails, says: "I genuinely believe this wing is the best place for me to turn my life around."

Alex Norris, the justice secretary, is monitoring the experiment closely. "We're determined the criminal justice system creates better citizens, not better criminals," said an Moj spokesman. "There are early signs to show the wings support a reduction in violence, and we will continue to look at what works – including evidence from overseas – to improve safety, reduce reoffending and protect the public."

The units have provoked a backlash among rightwingers, who believe prison should focus on punishment. Earlier this year, the revelation that prisoners had been given alarm clocks to wake up gently, rather than with an officer banging on their door, caused controversy. Some victims will also be angry that criminals are having tea parties and playing the piano.

"We should not lose sight of the fact that prison is ultimately there to incapacitate, to deter and to punish," says Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary. "And when Labour are telling us they have no choice but to release killers, child abusers and grooming gang members back on to the streets, we must make sure tight resources and space are being used properly."

But he adds: "We should not pass up the opportunity to reduce reoffending, by ensuring prisoners are ready for employment when they finish their sentence and can contribute to society again. Prisoners who are literate, numerate and engage in constructive activity are less likely to reoffend... I look forward to seeing the evidence behind this particular approach."

The final results of the randomised controlled trial will be published in December but Gina Clark, the superintendent of SCI

Chester, says early findings echo her experience in Pennsylvania, where the Scandi project began in 2019 and the unit became fully operational in 2022. "When I first walked on to the Little Scandinavia unit, I thought: 'This isn't going to work.' It challenged everything I thought I knew about corrections. But within a few months of becoming superintendent, I became a believer because I could see the difference."

Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales, says it is "remarkable" what has been achieved on the Vanguard wings in terms of the reduction in levels of violence. "You have to keep reminding yourself when you visit that these are randomly selected, standard category B reception prison men, because the behaviour on the wings is just entirely different from what you see elsewhere around the jail," he says.

"There's none of the tension you feel as you walk around other wings in places like Wandsworth and Pentonville. With staff, instead of backing off prisoners because they're nervous, they're on the front foot with prisoners – they're being assertive but they're also being friendly and supportive."

There is an old prison officer saying, Taylor says: happiness is door-shaped. "That's the attitude in many jails we go to, but what you see in the Vanguard wings is the opposite. The prisoners are unlocked but the staff are well trained – they know exactly what they're trying to do on the wing, they've got high levels of autonomy, they're given the tools to do the job but they're also held to account for the way in which they do it."

The chief inspector would like to see a Scandi wing in every jail. "The proof of concept here is that you don't need a massive cash investment – you need to recruit the right people, give some training, set the right standards, and create the right environment and the right levels of autonomy and responsibility," he says.

"Wandsworth and Pentonville are two of the most challenging prisons in the country. Quite honestly, if they can do it in those jails, they can do it in any jail."

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Ego and risk-taking may have consigned elite mountaineers to their deaths at 6,000m

After Nirmal Purja's 'baffling' decision to brave treacherous conditions on Broad Peak, experts wonder what role celebrity played in the tragedy

Simon Usborne

On 27 July, Nirmal Purja updated his 3 million Instagram followers from Pakistan, where the Nepali-British mountaineer had just climbed Gasherbrum II, one of the 14 peaks that rise above 8,000 metres. His private client, a wealthy Russian woman, was exhausted and heading home, but Purja had spotted an opportunity to bag one more peak.

'I ran the numbers on my 8000m summits,' he wrote, in a post that hummed with the alpha-male energy that made him a polarising figure in the sport. 'That's when it hit me: if I tick off Broad Peak whilst I'm here, only one remains 'Cho Oyu.' Then I become the FIRST person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice. Without oxygen.'

Three days later, Purja, 43, was the leading figure in a group of 10 climbers on the steep western flanks of the mountain. At 8,051 metres, the world's 12th highest peak lies in Pakistan's towering Karakoram range, which also includes nearby K2, the world's second highest mountain. Known for its steep, unrelenting faces and heavy snowfalls, Broad Peak is considered to be a demanding, if achievable, challenge.

But at around 9am, when Purja was approaching 5,700 metres, a giant avalanche swept him and the group off their feet, flinging them down the mountain over ice and rock with such force that it is reported to have amputated the leg of one victim, whose death was confirmed.

Purja was killed, along with five well-known Nepali climbers: Kili Pemba Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Pur Bahadur Gurung, Gyalu Sherpa and Nawang Thindu Sherpa. Sohail Sakhi, an experienced mountaineering guide from Pakistan; Nadhira Al Harthy, who in 2019 became the first Omani woman to summit Everest; Chinese climber Wang Zhong; and Sarah Mallory Geis, from the US, also died in the incident.

The deadliest disaster on the 8,000m mountains in more than a decade stunned the climbing community. A week later, questions are being asked about the power of big personalities to shape appetites for risk on the world's highest peaks.

'Between them, these guys prob-

ably had more than 100 summits of 8,000-metre mountains,' said Alan Arnette, a US mountaineer and respected chronicler of modern expeditions. 'There had been heavy snow and high winds, which means that all it takes is a big gust or a human step to cause a huge avalanche. Why did they choose to do it? It baffles me.'

Ian Overton, an American climber, abandoned his own attempt on Broad Peak days earlier after experiencing breathing problems. He was worried a storm had made snow conditions less stable. The morning after the high winds, he descended the steep slope that would later avalanche. 'I remember thinking, 'Oh God, I hope this doesn't slide,' he said.

Overton says more snow hit base camp as he was packing up. He had ruled out the likelihood of a new weather window until 2 August - three days after the avalanche - once the new and windblown snow had either stabilised or slipped by itself.

'The first I heard that they had attempted it was when I friend of mine texted me to ask if I was OK,'

said Overton. He said he was surprised that they had tried. 'I was horrified and heartbroken... There was stuff on social media about possible survivors but, knowing that terrain, I didn't have a lot of hope.'

The disaster has hit hard in Nepal, home to six of the 10 victims. It was the worst high-Alpine loss of life since 2014 and 2015, when two avalanches killed more than 25 of the country's climbers working on Mount Everest. The stature of many of the victims, including Purja, added to the shock. The former Gurkha, who served with Britain's elite Special Boat Service before moving into mountaineering, was a major celebrity there, particularly after a hit 2021 Netflix documentary, 14 Peaks, about his quest to summit all the 8,000-metre peaks in record time.

'Those who celebrated Nirmal Purja like a superhero share in why he wanted to be so risk-tolerant'

Ankit Babu Adhikari

'So many people... idolised him for the courage he showed,' said Ankit Babu Adhikari, a Nepali journalist in Kathmandu and the co-author of the 2022 book Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest. 'This is an unprecedented loss.'

While not an ethnic Sherpa, Purja, whose body was brought off the mountain last Thursday and who is survived by his wife, Suchi, and young daughter, is credited with elevating workers who had for decades lost lives and digits while serving western expeditions, often unnamed. 'He proved to young Sherpas that they could... climb in their own way and make a name for themselves,' Arnette says.

Purja accelerated the rise of Nepali guiding companies as rivals to the western organisations who had dominated for years. He founded Elite Exped in 2017, and was joining forces on Broad Peak with the Sherpa-run firm Seven Summits Treks and Imagine Nepal, which is run by his friend Mingma Gyalie Sherpa, known as Mingma G. The men were also joined by Sohail Sakhi, a guide with Moving Mountains, a Pakistani company that also championed local guides and porters. Mingma G later led the recovery mission to bring down the bodies of those who died.

Only one of the four companies involved in the incident responded to questions. Thaneswar Guragai, general manager at Seven Summit Treks, said his team was operating independently from Purja, in response to many reports that he was de facto leader on the day. He declined to comment on that day's forecast, adding: 'High-altitude mountaineering inherently carries significant risks, including unpredictable weather and avalanche hazards, which all climbers are always aware of.'

In 2021, Purja sealed his celebrity

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ascent by leading a 10-man, all-Nepali team to the summit of K2 in winter, a formidable feat that was considered one of the last big prizes in the Himalaya. For Nepal, the triumph was, he said, "bigger than the World Cup". The men made front pages all over the world.

Days later, after five climbers died during their own attempts on K2, I interviewed Purja for Tortoise Media, now the owner of The Observer, about the triumph and ensuing tragedy. I asked him if he thought the pressure to perform for fans and sponsors in the Instagram age of mountaineering led people to take undue risks.

"Not for me," he said. "That decision to be brave and to keep climbing can make you successful, but it can literally kill you. If you haven't been honest to yourself in terms of being true to your ability – if you're just doing it for egoistic purposes or external pressures rather than internal strength – it's not going to go well."

Yet in the world of mountaineering Purja was earning a reputation for pushing the limits too far. Several leading figures in the industry – who did not want to speak publicly for fear of being targeted online or jeopardising relations with the Nepali authorities – told me they expected Purja's luck to run out. They also questioned his ability to balance his personal goals with the needs of a group.

"He was a highly skilled, incredibly strong, gifted mountain climber," Arnette said. "But just because you're a great football player, it doesn't necessarily make you a great coach."

In 2024, in a New York Times report, two female mountaineers made allegations against Purja of sexual misconduct. Purja denied the claims via a lawyer, calling them "false and

defamatory", and continued to climb and guide. His supporters only rallied behind him, particularly in the "manosphere", which cleaved to his intense, hyper-masculine public persona. Those paying tribute to him last week included the Prince of Wales, who praised his "relentless pursuit of what seemed impossible, combined with his humility and selflessness".

Arnette said there has long been a view in the base camps of Nepal and Pakistan that local guiding companies have a higher risk tolerance than their western counterparts. Adikhari, the Nepali journalist, agreed, in part because local knowledge and close access to the best Sherpas means that they can legitimately push things further. "But things start getting problematic when this confidence stretches to the point where companies and some individuals start overdoing it... tolerance becomes overconfidence and people tend to believe they are invincible."

Adikhari said sometimes fierce and bitter rivalry with established western firms is also a factor. "And for someone like Purja, I think it was beyond just competition. He rose to fame so quickly with his records and achievements, and I think he wanted to keep that going... The media, the brands, the people who celebrated him like a superhero should take a share in why he wanted to be so risk-tolerant."

None of the expedition companies had any comment on the suggestion that they take bigger risks.

After announcing his attempt on Broad Peak on Instagram, Purja addressed his critics. He rejected the idea that he competes with anyone. "My only battle was against the man I was yesterday," he wrote, in a last post that now strikes a poignantly reflective, if defensive, tone. "I take zero mountains for granted. Not one. The moment my foot leaves basecamp, it's 100%. Always has been. Always will be."

Down over the Karakoram mountains, including K2, back of picture, right, and Broad Peak, centre. Yonysin Wang/Getty

Nirmal Purja after climbing K2 in the winter of 2021. Aaron Qureshi/AFP, Getty

Scan the QR code to listen to The Observer Slow Newscast, Disaster at Camp 3, about Nirmal Purja's winter summit of K2

Six mountaineers and one final, fatal climb

Poppy Bullard looks at the remarkable lives of Nirmal 'Nims' Purja and the other Nepali climbers who died in an avalanche that killed 10 people in Pakistan's Karakoram range

Nirmal Purja

Known as "Nims", Purja, 43, shot to fame

in 2021 after his Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, which followed his record-breaking attempt to climb the world's 14 highest mountains. After school he joined the British army's Gurkha regiment, and later the Special Boat Service, becoming the first Gurkha to do so. He began climbing in 2012, and in 2018 quit the navy to dedicate his life to mountaineering. As well as making many record-breaking ascents, his work focused on boosting the profile of Nepali climbers, long considered simply aides to western explorers. In 2024, two women made allegations of sexual assault against him, which he denied. His funeral will be held in the UK.

Kili Pemba Sherpa

A giant in the Nepali mountaineer

community, Nima, 45, had one of his most successful years in 2026. On 3 July he completed his bid to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks, a feat achieved by fewer than 50 people. He was part of Purja's 2021 record-breaking first winter ascent of K2, which is considered more dangerous to climb than Everest. The expedition was a key part of Purja's campaign to boost the profile of Nepali climbers as mountaineers in their own right.

Nima Sherpa

At 36, Nima was a rising star in the guiding community.

Born in the remote Sankhuwasabha province in eastern Nepal to a farming family, he began his career as a hiking and trekking guide in 2015, before making the switch to high-altitude

mountaineering in 2021. He had summited four of the world's 8,000-metre mountains this year alone. He worked as a senior guide for Elite Expeditions, the company founded by Nirmal Purja.

Pur Bahadur Gurung

A veteran of Everest, which he

had summited 10 times, "Yukta", 37, had climbed 11 of the world's 14 highest peaks. He started his career as a porter and expedition cook, before becoming a guide. Some of his best known achievements include summiting four 8,000-metre peaks in Pakistan in just 12 days, as well as a 24-hour ascent of K2. In 2024, he was part of an Everest team that discovered a 100-year-old boot thought to have belonged to Andrew Irvine, who vanished on the mountain in 1924 alongside George Mallory.

Gyalu Sherpa

Described as an "unsung hero" of the Nepali

mountaineering community, the 47-year-old's career as a guide spanned a decade. At the time of his death he was working as a senior high-altitude guide for Seven Summit Treks. In what is thought to be a record, last year he summited the world's third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, three times in one season.

Nawang Thindu Sherpa

Born into a family

of experienced mountaineers, the guide, 28, had also taken part in numerous treacherous rescue missions, including the search for two Sherpa climbers after the avalanche on Annapurna in 2025, and this year the retrieval of the body of a Czech climber from above 7,000 metres on Malaku II.

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Some veg like it hot, but most do not: heatwave forces chefs to get creative

Restaurants are rethinking menus to cope with a hot summer of high costs, poor yields and a glut of octopus

Tomé Morrissy-Swan

From early harvests to overheating kitchens and soaring wholesale prices, the prolonged hot weather has led to a summer of uncertainty for the restaurant industry.

The sector has long-established and planned-for norms: tomatoes and courgettes in summer, leeks and kale in winter. But the weather has upended expectations.

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across half of England and last week farmers warned the weather would lead to smaller and more expensive vegetables. Mathew Day from Growing Communities, an organic veg box scheme that also supplies restaurants, said despite "endless hours irrigating", it is "too

hot" for many vegetables to grow. Wholesale prices for staples such as tomatoes have risen by 60% and iceberg lettuce is up by 90%. Yields of broccoli and peas are well down.

For restaurants, that means extra costs and a growing reliance on imports during what is supposed to be the peak UK growing season.

"We noticed the effects almost immediately," said Johnny Stanford, co-owner of Tern, a restaurant in Worthing, West Sussex, which uses only British produce. "Things are changing week by week, rather than month by month. We have to roll with what's the best available, and that'll change fairly frequently."

Stanford said he was often having to source "B-grade produce" ("not perfect, but still fine to eat"), which requires more effort in the kitchen. Reprinting new menus and creating new dishes costs time and money too. Rising wholesale prices could threaten the very existence of certain businesses at a time when profits are already minuscule, Stanford said.

The impact of the warmer weather

will be felt for months to come says Nick Beardshaw, chef patron of Starling, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Esher, Surrey, predicting that the rise in temperatures in July will be bad for apples and pears, stunting their growth and causing them to drop prematurely. Potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli are struggling too, he added.

The flipside is that some fruits and vegetables are thriving. Plants with deeper roots are more resilient to drought, Day explained. "But there are many factors. Different growers

Parched fields at Shimpling farm in Bury St Edmunds. Toby Shepherd/AFP

are having differing successes based on how they farm, luck and terroir. Someone farming on peat or clay will have more moisture." In sandy-soiled regions it is much harder. In most places bumblebees, beetles, butterflies and other pollinators are also suffering, so even sunshine-hungry tomato plants are not thriving everywhere.

Still, some chefs, particularly in smaller establishments, prioritising seasonal produce, are looking on the bright side. Beardshaw says cherries have been particularly delicious this year. At Wild, a restaurant in Berkhamsted that runs its own farm, head grower Jude Allen said the French beans, tomatoes and aubergines had all flourished.

Daniel Fletcher, head chef at Morchella, a Mediterranean restaurant in Clerkenwell, central London, said: "It is a fun time to be a chef. With the scorching heat, the menu has become lighter, fresher, more vegetable and seafood-based."

A growing number of restaurants are serving Mediterranean octopus, which have arrived in British waters in huge numbers, partly due to marine heatwaves. Alex Hunter of The Sea, The Sea, in Chelsea, west London, said it was "exciting" to be able to source octopus without importing them and also to support Cornish fisheries.

Meanwhile, suppliers of Scottish langoustines and scallops haven't been able to send produce to wholesale customers for fear that the ice packs used to keep them alive would melt before they arrived.

Matthew Day hopes the season's uncertainty might push restaurants to become more flexible and work with sustainable farms, though he added: "I imagine bigger restaurant groups and inflexible ones will find cheap alternatives to fill gaps on their menus."

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Ayoade Bamgboye plays Kemi Badenoch and Peter Serafinowicz Nigel Farage in a Saturday Night Live UK sketch. Right, comedian Stevie Martin. Sky UK

Sketch satire bites back at the Fringe thanks to Saturday Night Live effect

Comedians say the UK version of the hit show has created a new buzz around a format that had fallen out of favour. John Simpson reports from Edinburgh

Dwindling television commissions and a voracious public appetite for social media clips have made the last decade tough for sketch comedians and satirists. But this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe felt the "SNL effect" – after the arrival of Saturday Night Live UK, which comics say has created a new buzz around sketch and satire.

The UK edition of the US comedy format was initially met with scepticism, but strong viewing figures and good reviews have secured it a second series on Sky One. The solo shows of several SNL UK cast members and writers have sold well at the

Fringe, which started last week. The impact has also been felt elsewhere – from student comedy to some of the oldest sketch and satire shows in the country.

Stevie Martin, a former contestant on the celebrity game show Taskmaster, works with student comedy groups. She started out in Durham University's sketch group alongside comics including Nish Kumar and Ed Gamble, and is emceeing the Student Sketch Off at the Fringe on 23 August. She has had huge solo success with her standup show Cloud in previous Fringe runs. "I think SNL gives sketch comedians a wider aim than just doing online stuff or eventually going solo," she said.

"I've been working with lots of young sketch comedians who are at university and they all ask me about SNL UK and they've all watched it. It gives people hope and excitement, and it inspires people to be creative in a way that you can't be if you're seeing there's absolutely nothing on TV or anywhere above what you're currently doing to aim for."

Since the heyday of British TV sketch comedy in the 1980s and 1990s, when Not The Nine O'Clock News and Spitting Image drew audiences of 10m or more, commissioning has moved away from short, scripted scenes and increasingly favoured cheaper, panel-show formats. Although programmes such as the BBC's Dead Ringers and Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe fared well in the 2000s and 2010s, the last 10 years have seen the sketch scene largely migrate online, where very few comedians are able to make a living from short, viral fragments.

Leading satirists at this year's Fringe include Michael Spicer, whose The Room Next Door clips have been an online sensation for many years. Spicer, who appeared alongside Martin and Kumar on BBC Two's The Mash Report, which the broadcaster cancelled five years ago, said: "In my Fringe show I say SNL UK is important because it's an old-fashioned variety show."

"There needs to be more on the part of television broadcasters to

SNL UK's greatest hits

The Last Supper

Princess Diana, played by a sharply camp Jack Shep, is joined by Al Nash's Winston Churchill, Larry Dean's Freddie Mercury, and other British heroes from Mary Seacole (Ayoade Bamgboye) to Benjamin Zephaniah (Hammel Animashaun), at David Attenborough's last meal.

Traitors: Great Big Crab Man

Celeste Dring plays Claudia Winkleman in an illustration of the frustrating experience of watching a traitors round table, where the faithful fail to spot the signs that one of them is a traitor. Or in this case, a massive crab.

Farage's Pub Press Conference

Set in an imagined future, Peter Serafinowicz's Nigel Farage is prime minister, with Kemi Badenoch (Ayoade Bamgboye) as his deputy and Donald Trump as the King.

want to bring people back into the living room to sit down to watch something like this on television because sketch comedy has been lost over the last 10 years to people's phones."

Spicer, who is at the Edinburgh Fringe with his new show Hope All's Well, added that although he was not a fan of the original SNL format, he felt there might be a "cultural shift" signalled by the launch of its UK edition and the return of David Mitchell and Robert Webb in their recent Channel 4 series Mitchell and Webb are Not Helping.

Emma Taylor, who has been a producer on the political sketch show NewsRevue for 25 years, said: "I think people are definitely interested again and it's created a buzz among the community that something like this exists and there's another channel for us, potentially."

SNL UK premiered on Sky One to 226,000 overnight viewers – representing a 3.2% audience share – and averaged a seven-day consolidated audience of about 506,000 viewers across its first series.

Traditional broadcast numbers declined as the series progressed but the show achieved significant viral engagement, generating more than 86m views on social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.

SNL UK's head writer Daran "Jonno" Johnson said: "The show is really good and I'm really proud of it but I think it's bigger that it was on – that there's a sketch show on TV – than that it was good."

Johnson, in Edinburgh with his debut solo show Here Comes Mr Funny, said that by episode two of the first series, the cast and writing team were aware the show was being well received.

Although there have been other good sketch shows in recent years, "they have been so sparse" compared with previous eras, and he hoped SNL UK would lead to more comedy sketch commissions for TV.

Oh, Mr Darcy! Firth's shirt creates new splash on dry land

Lily Isaacs

When Dinah Collin made a simple linen shirt for the BBC's 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, she never imagined it would still be a talking point more than three decades later. But such is the power of Colin Firth emerging from a lake.

Now the shirt worn by Firth as Mr Darcy, right, in the adaptation of Jane Austen's novel is on display at Dovecot, a tapestry studio and arts

venue in Edinburgh, as part of the touring Costume Couture exhibition. It marks the first time the garment has been exhibited outside a private collection, after the Bankfield Museum in Halifax bought it for £25,000 in 2024.

The shirt became part of one of TV's most recognisable scenes despite not being part of the novel. It was created for Andrew

Davies's television adaptation in which Darcy unexpectedly encounters Elizabeth Bennet after emerging from a lake, his linen shirt soaked through.

The scene was a practical solution rather than part of a grand creative plan. While the production wanted Darcy to surprise Elizabeth (played by Jennifer Eble), Firth was reluctant to appear shirtless. Menswear designer Christopher Prins, who was working on the production for the costume

house Cosprop, suggested a soaking wet Regency shirt instead. "It was one of those lightbulb moments," said Chris Garlick, company manager of Cosprop, which was founded by the Oscar-winning designer John Bright.

For Oxford professor Kathryn Sutherland, author of Jane Austen in 41 Objects, the garment represents a turning point in how Austen's heroes were portrayed on screen. "The shirt gives Darcy a body," she said. "[He] becomes romanticised and energised."

Garlick believes the wet shirt changed its wearer's life too. "It was the beginning of Colin's career as a sex symbol," he said.

Collin said the scene's enduring appeal has little to do with the garment itself. "It's very much to do

with their relationship," she said. "She's genuinely surprised and he's deeply embarrassed. It was beautifully directed and brilliantly acted."

She recalled the painstaking process of researching Regency dress without the internet, which involved travelling to museums around Britain. The team wanted costumes that felt authentic but full of life. "It caught the book and the characters," she said. "It still feels fresh."

Cosprop has also provided the costumes for Netflix's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which will be released later this year. Garlick hinted audiences should not expect a straightforward recreation the lake scene. "There is going to be a moment," he said. "It might be a bit more risque."

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Binface and beyond: a comic-book hero is born

David Barnett

With his outlandish caped costume, dustbin-based helmet and intergalactic backstory, perennial by-election contender Count Binface looks every inch the comic-book character.

Now he is one. A graphic anthology featuring a host of comic talent has been released ahead of the showdown between Count Binface – not-so secret identity, comedian and writer Jon Harvey – and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on Thursday.

The 72-page book has been rush-released by independent publisher SelfMadeHero. Contributors include Bryan Talbot, creator of cult Luther

Arkwright; Dave McKean, who found fame as the cover artist of the influential Sandman DC Comics series in the 1980s and 1990s; and Steven Appleby, whose work has appeared in The Observer many times over his 40-year career.

Appleby's strip envisages a world that hinges on the outcome of the Clacton by-election, while Becky Barnicoat, whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, imagines the count's helmet sparking a 'hot bin summer' fashion trend. London-based artist Krent Able goes the full superhero route, pitting Binface

'In Clacton if you need something done, don't wait for a politician'

Whether Nigel Farage or a bin triumphs in Thursday's by-election, little will change for the residents of Clacton and nearby Jaywick. We'll still look after ourselves, they tell Xavier Greenwood

Over the past two years, Clacton has been treated as a case study of Britain's political sclerosis, an opportunity to talk about division, deprivation and revenge. It elected Nigel Farage as an MP in 2024, and because the Reform UK leader has triggered a by-election in the seaside constituency to shore up his support, on Thursday it is being asked if it will do so again.

It's also being asked to consider the pledges of a man dressed as a bin and those of 32 other candidates from as far afield as Australia. Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems are boycotting the election as a farce, but here the feeling is broadly mutual.

The view on the ground is that turnout will be low. The view everywhere else is that Farage will probably win the by-election but lose much of what remains of his credibility – not least because once reinstalled as an MP, he could yet face a fresh investigation into undeclared gifts. In Clacton the machinations of national politics seem less of an instrument of change than a sideshow.

Two miles south of its arcades and fairground rides, the coastal village of Jaywick doesn't get much tourism. Nor was it mentioned in Farage's recent campaign video, explaining what he has done for the constituency.

Outside the community centre a teenager in a Nirvana T-shirt says she dislikes that the media latches on to the fact that Jaywick is consistently ranked as the most deprived area in England. 'They do like to put us in a bad place and say we're really deprived,' she says. 'How could you say it's deprived when you've got such lovely people around here?'

Outside the centre, young people are rehearsing a variety show to raise money for Sonny's Army, run by Bobbie-Jean Halls Smith and Destiny Hannam. They started the charity when they were 12 and 16, inspired by Halls Smith's brother, Sonny, who was born with a rare heart condition.

'We all treat each other like family,' the teenager outside the house says. 'We don't treat each other like family,' Danell, Sonny's mother, interjects. 'We are family.'

Barry Shimell, who lives in a beachfront house with his wife Suzy, runs Jaywick's community garden. Classrooms are about to be installed in the garden so that children can visit and learn about the land.

'We've had kids come down here and told them they could pick strawberries and any other fruit they liked,' Shimell says, 'and they said: 'We can't eat them; they're poisonous.'

From the outside, Jaywick doesn't have much going for it. But locals are happy. 'I love it here,' Sarah says from her doorstep. 'People say stuff about Jaywick but they don't know what they're talking about. The community is beautiful. He was in hospital,' she says, pointing to her partner. 'He nearly died on these steps. Everyone

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against a rather familiar-looking villain, Lord Slimefrog. Graphic novelist Myfanwy Tristram explores the history of joke candidates in elections.

The idea came from SelfMadeHero's managing director, Emma Hayley, who said the time was right to "celebrate this exciting new force in British politics in comic-book form".

Hayley, who has been a Binface fan "since learning of his policy to nationalise the singer Adele", added: "I thank all the writers and artists who went the extra mile because they believed in this crucial work of political satire. And because they thought it was a

Count Binface is celebrated as an 'exciting new force' in British politics. SelfMadeHero

funny idea to celebrate a guy dressed as a bin."

Founded in 2007, SelfMadeHero is one of Britain's leading independent graphic novel publishers, mostly known for literary adaptations and graphic biographies. In 2017, it published a similar anthology, The Corbyn Comic Book, featuring strips about then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The publisher said pre-sale orders of the Count Binface book "had gone through the roof" and it was considering a second print run. Every sale of the £9.99 book – which is unauthorised and has not involved the count

– 10% will be donated to the homelessness charity Shelter.

Harvey entered the political scene as Lord Buckethead in 2017, when he took on then PM, Theresa May, in the general election, later contesting seats against Boris Johnson and, most recently, Andy Burnham in Makerfield. He told The Observer: "I haven't had a chance to have a look yet. I'm hoping they've done [it] in the same spirit I try to bring to my Earthly adventures, and if they're raising money for Shelter then that's fantastic."

Farage did not respond to a request for comment.

here was saying: 'Sarah, do you need anything?'"

In Jaywick, if you need something done, you don't wait for politicians to help. "It's like that streetlight," says Amanda, a retired Royal Mail driver. "Before I made a complaint, it hadn't worked for seven years."

It is not clear whether any national politician has been able to reckon with a place like Jaywick, which is suspicious of interventions. In 2024, Tendring District Council, which is under no overall control, adopted a £126m plan to regenerate the area over 20 years. Local people aren't sure about all the proposals.

"They're saying you can come out of the bungalows and go into brand new houses," Shimell says. "People don't want to because they've got their neighbours."

Reform gets a mixed reception. Sarah supports the party, but Amanda "won't even entertain Farage". But the main feeling is apathy. It is only when prompted that residents show any interest in Farage regaining his seat.

"[Politicians] come down here, and say 'we'll sweep the road, vote for us',"

'Politicians come down here, say "We'll sweep the road, vote for us". Then they're gone in 10 minutes'

Barry Shimell

Shimell says. "Then they're gone in 10 minutes."

More than a dozen byelection candidates took part in a hustings event in Clacton-on-Sea last week. Farage gave it a miss, but the Reform leader does seem to be taking the byelection somewhat seriously. Party activists were reportedly diverted from the Greater Manchester mayoral election in favour of Clacton. With no sign of Farage, the party dropped to third place. Instead, he's been on the stump in Clacton. Raheem Kassam, editor of Breitbart London, has also been campaigning for Reform in Clacton.

Martin Suker, a Labour supporter from Clacton, thinks wholesale change is needed to stop more byelec-

Arcades and rides on the pier at Clacton, where voters will be able to choose between 34 candidates, including Nigel Farage, at the byelection on Thursday.

Photographs by Gary Calton

Beachgoers, left, leave Jaywick Sands at the end of the day. The area is being regenerated by Tendring District Council under a proposed 20-year £126m plan.

A holidaymaker in Clacton last week, below, will have to share the streets with national media on Thursday.

tions turning into a farce. "The people in deprivation voting for Reform are not doing it because they're in deprivation. They're voting for an opportunity to feel that their voice is heard."

His proposed solutions are proportional representation and more devolution, policies supported by the new prime minister, Andy Burnham.

That might make sense in Labour HQ but they are surely too neat a solution for Jaywick, where many locals are well past politics and derive meaning elsewhere. When a streetlight goes unfixed for seven years, a byelection involving Howling Laud Hope, Nick the Incredible Flying Brick, Count Binface and Nigel Farage is unlikely to offer all that much.

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Widdecombe police reopen file on 'arson attempt' at Farage home

Catherine Neilan Whitehall editor

Counter-terrorism police have reopened an inquiry into an attempted burglary at Nigel Farage's property in south London as part of its investigation into the death of former MP Ann Widdecombe.

The incident, which was reported to police in April 2025, came to light earlier this year after the Reform UK leader claimed there had been an 'outright arson attempt' at his home and newspaper reports said it had been 'firebombed'. The Observer

established that police had treated the matter as an attempted burglary, although nothing was stolen. An incendiary device caused damage to a door. The investigation was closed without any arrests being made.

On Friday the senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism policing, Vicki Evans, said that following the killing of Widdecombe, the team had 'identified a line of inquiry which was not identified and pursued by them at the time, which may have been relevant'. The force has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog.

Arday scandal turns spotlight on publishers

A memoir by an academic accused of plagiarism and fabrication will still go on sale this month. The industry has a fact-checking problem, insiders say

Lily Isaacs

The publication of Jason Arday's memoir Great and Unfortunate Things will go ahead later this month despite mounting allegations of plagiarism in his academic work and questions about his career and personal history.

The memoir, which is being published by Simon & Schuster, tells the story of Arday's life as a young boy from a council estate in south London who was diagnosed with autism and global development delay at the age of three, and who was non-verbal for much of his childhood. Despite these challenges, he became the youngest ever Black professor at the University of Cambridge. But the veracity of claims both in the memoir and in his professional life have come under scrutiny and last Wednesday Arday resigned from his position.

In July the self-described 'race realist' academic Nathan Cofnas accused Arday of plagiarism; the Telegraph later reported that Arday's PhD contained more than 100 passages similar to material that appeared in a thesis published six years earlier. Arday denies plagiarism. Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday's PhD, investigated the allegations last year and dismissed them. Arday told the Times that he is 'accountable' for any mistakes he made, but that he is 'not a liar'. Cambridge has launched an investigation into 'new information' about his academic qualifications and honorary appointments.

Questions have also been raised about his public statements about his life and achievements, including how much money he raised for charity, and claims about being subject to racist abuse. Arday has rejected accusations that he fabricated his life story. Parts of his memoir have also been queried. It opens with a description of volunteering in Brazil, which Arday's biography on the Simon & Schuster website said was facilitated by WaterAid. The charity has since told the Telegraph it does not send volunteers abroad.

Sources in the industry said they were not surprised that publishers were still going ahead with the book.

'There is so much that's taken on trust when you write a memoir,' said Catherine Taylor, whose 2023 book The Stirrings, won the TLS Ackerley prize. 'Nothing that I put there about my own personal experience was ever fact-checked.' If a book doesn't raise red flags with a lawyer, Taylor said, then no investigation will be done.

The Observer's reporting on The Salt Path has shown that publishers are

Jason Arday denies allegations.

not necessarily expected to check the veracity of a memoir.

Alexandra Pringle, who published memoirs such as Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love and Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential as editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury, said it was a 'publisher's duty to stand by their author' and that recently 'publishers have been too easily throwing their authors under the bus'. She referred to the storm that emerged in 2021 when critics accused the poet Kate Clancy of using 'racist and ableist' tropes in her memoir Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me. Picador stopped publishing her books.

Roger Kreuz, an academic who researches plagiarism, said accusations like those made against Arday are more common in academia than many realise. 'It's almost never publicised because nobody benefits,' he said. What has changed is that accusations of plagiarism are now becoming a 'political weapon', he said, citing the resignation of Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, in 2024. 'Maybe you're an unfaithful spouse. Maybe you kick your dog. People can overlook those things, but when it comes to plagiarism, that's the one line you can't cross,' he said.

One senior book editor suspected that publishers overlooked due diligence on Arday's memoir because he was a 'star'. 'He's a Black professor at Cambridge. He's gorgeous-looking. He's young. It's the full package,' they said. Publishing lists are so 'pale and stale' that the editor suspected 'everyone just went, oh brilliant, this solves the problem because we don't have enough Black authors.'

Publishers were unwilling to invest in the structural issues that led to the lack of diversity, but just hoped for 'these miracle people to come along... He's a PR dream. Well, he was.'

Prof Arday and Simon & Schuster were contacted for comment.

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Clockwise from left: boys look at a Raleigh shop's window display in Paris in 1983; a Raleigh Grifter bicycle in 1976; model Susan Saver rides a Chopper in 1971; the 1987 Raleigh-Banana professional cycle team named after their sponsor, a syndicate of banana importers. Jean-Erick Pasquier/Gamma-Raphy via Getty Images, SSPL, Metropix, PA/Klainy

Creator of the Chopper and a million childhood adventures, Raleigh pedals off into the sunset

After 139 years in the saddle, the Midlands bicycle maker is facing probable closure. Chris Marshall-Bell charts the ups and downs of a cultural icon

For Britons who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, Raleigh was a byword for cycling. If you didn't have a Raleigh Chopper, did you even own a bike? So, it is of great sadness to several generations that what was once the world's biggest bike manufacturer has been placed into administration by the Accell Group and faces probable closure after 139 years in business.

Founded in 1887, the Nottingham company was a true British success story for most of the 20th century: it produced three-wheeled cars in the 1930s that gave way to the Reliant Robin, and after the Second World War employed about 8,000 people in its bicycle factory that made every single one of a bike's components.

In the mid-1960s, Raleigh commanded two-thirds of the domestic

market share, and a few years later its three-speed Chopper went on sale, immediately becoming a cultural icon. Inspired by a Harley-Davidson motorbike, its long, padded saddle rested against a back bar, while the 'ape-hanger' handlebars and different sized wheels added to its atypical look. More than 1.5 million Choppers were sold, and today it is a sought-after collectors' item.

Other models – such as the Vektar, Burner and Grifter – kept the brand relevant, but none matched the enduring popularity of the Chopper, which was re-released in 2023. By then, however, Raleigh's downturn had continued for several decades.

Its Nottingham factory was closed in 2002 and manufacturing moved to Asia, leaving only an office in the Midlands. In 2012 Raleigh was bought for $100m by Accell, and 10 years later the US private equity firm KKR paid £1.2bn for Accell's numerous brands. But the demise continued: in 2023, Raleigh reported pre-tax losses of £30.1m. With competition from cheaper, mass bicycle production in China, it is perhaps no surprise that creditors have been unable to save the company.

But the nostalgia and fond memories live on – and not only through the Chopper. When Britain joined the European Common Market in 1973, Raleigh looked for a foothold on the continent. The best and most logical marketing strategy was to create a professional cycling team. Company executives can't have foreseen how dominant and revolutionary TI-Raleigh, dressed in their renowned red, yellow and black jerseys, would become over the ensuing decade.

Led by Dutchman Peter Post, the Dutch-registered but British-backed team did away with cycling's tradition of one leader, and harnessed a culture of multiple winners. From 1972 to 1983, the team amassed more than

'Ask anyone in the older generation to name a bike brand, they'll say Raleigh'

Malcolm Elliot, former racer

900 victories, including two road race World Championships. So Tour de France stages and the Tour's coveted yellow jersey in 1980, through Joop Zoetemelk. Inspired by Ajax's and the Netherlands' 'total football', Post had created the concept of 'total cycling'.

'The red, black and yellow colourway transformed the credibility of Raleigh in the eyes of serious racing cyclists,' said Brian Cookson, president of the International Cycling Union from 2013 to 2017. 'It went from a brand that made a very successful kids' bike to one with huge relevance in the racing world.'

Even when the all-conquering TI-Raleigh team came to an end, Raleigh kept a presence in the domestic and international peloton: Raleigh-Weinmann, later renamed Raleigh-Banana, was a British professional team from 1984, competing in the Milk Race and prestigious Belgian Spring Classics. They were gone by the mid-1990s, but another British team bearing the Raleigh name raced from 2010 to 2017.

'For an older generation, ask anyone in the street to name a bike brand and they'll say Raleigh,' said former British champion Malcolm Elliot, who

raced for Raleigh-Weinmann for two seasons. 'To turn pro with a name that is synonymous with cycling and the cycling industry was a proud thing. People knew if you rode for Raleigh it must be a big deal.'

Tim Harris won the British National Championships riding for Raleigh-Banana in 1989, the culmination of his lifelong relationship with the brand. 'When I was nine, any cool kid had a Raleigh Chopper. It was all over Blue Peter and everyone wanted it. It was terrible to ride – weighed down by the steel – but it was super cool; like a push bike motorbike,' Harris said.

'Then when I was getting into racing myself, TI-Raleigh were a massive, massive team that was made in Britain. Raleigh-Banana wasn't the same level, but we had a big budget – we were paid as much as Tour de France riders – and we had an international programme,' he said.

'Every rider went to the Raleigh factory to get their own custom-built bike and they'd stamp the rider's initials on the bottom. I've still got that bike. They were great times riding for and on an iconic, famous brand.'

"Debt, private equity and Covid: the spokes in the wheels"

OPINION Ben Zaranko Economics editor

The words 'corporate takeover' and 'bestselling book' don't generally go together. But Bryan Burrough and John Helyar's Barbarians at the Gate (1989), which chronicled the dramatic private equity buyout of US tobacco and food conglomerate RJR Nabisco, topped the charts

and remains a business classic to this day.

The bidding war for RJR Nabisco was won by KKR, the New York investment firm that pioneered the 'leveraged buyout', whereby investors borrow heavily to buy a target company, load that debt onto the company's balance sheet and use its cash flow to service the debt. To meet the heavy loan repayments, the buyers often aggressively cut costs, sack people and sell assets, making it highly controversial.

KKR is still around, still doing deals. In 2022 it led a consortium to acquire Accell, the Amsterdam-based owner of Raleigh and various other cycling brands, for €1.8bn.

But by mid-2023, Accell and its constituent parts were already struggling and in need of fresh loans. This February, after several debt writedowns had failed to salvage the situation, things came to a head. KKR agreed to hand its remaining ownership stake to the Dutch company's lenders, accepting a loss of more than €1bn. Now, six months on, Accell has filed for suspension of payments, a form of insolvency in the Netherlands.

The collapse of the cyclamaker reflects a bad bet on the part of its private equity owners – an occupational hazard in the private equity business.

KKR's consortium acquired

Accell during the pandemic, when cycling was booming and interest rates were low. The company pivoted heavily towards high-value ebikes and cargo bikes, on the back of soaring demand in the first years of Covid. But then ebike sales started to fall, and interest rates started to rise.

Accell, laden not only with debt but also excess inventory after over-ordering during the peak of pandemic cycling hype, wasn't able to cope. Supply chain disruptions and boardroom churn didn't help.

What happens next is unclear. It seems unlikely, though, that this will be the last pandemic-era bet to go bad.

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'I didn't want to go back': teenage rape trial highlights trauma of giving evidence twice

Abigail was 13 when she was raped by a 15-year-old boy. He was found guilty in a youth court but his appeal forced Abigail and two other victims to recount their ordeal a second time. As child-on-child sexual violence rises, campaigners call for urgent reform of the justice system to protect young people. Preeti Jha reports

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When 13-year-old Abigail learned she would need to give evidence in court for a second time, she wept in frustration. Testifying the first time had left her physically sick and unable to sleep. But after the teenage boy who raped her appealed his conviction, she was forced to confront the prospect of recounting the crime once more at a new hearing.

The schoolgirl first met the 15-year-old offender, who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions, on Snapchat last year. They had been introduced by friends and met in person soon after, sitting outdoors in a small group and playing music on their phones.

When Abigail, which is not her real name, agreed to meet him again, this time alone, on a sunny June afternoon at the same place, she expected something similar. Instead, the offender led her to a nearby clearing and raped her, leaving her bleeding and with bruises on her arms and legs.

It took Abigail four days to confide in her mother about the attack, which she later said had left her 'broken'. They went to the police station the next day. As the investigating officer listened to Abigail's account, he noticed similarities with the recent statements of two other girls, aged 16 and 15, who had reported separate incidents of rape in the area a few months earlier.

After Abigail positively identified the offender in a digital lineup, the officer knew it was the same person he was already investigating.

The teenager, who was on bail in connection with the two earlier offences, was arrested by Essex police again in early July after Abigail came forward. A week later the Crown Prosecution Service brought the three separate cases against him, which later proceeded to a single trial at a youth court, a special type of magistrates' court for defendants aged 10 to 17.

Unlike adults accused of rape, who must be tried before a jury in a crown court if they plead not guilty, the vast majority of child defendants are dealt with first in youth courts, before a district judge, including for crimes as serious as rape.

In youth courts, as in all magistrates' courts, there is an automatic right to appeal a conviction or sentence. Its advocates view this as an important buffer against miscarriages of justice. But when it comes to rape trials

involving child defendants, a little-reported consequence of the system is that it can lead to victims, as well as youth defendants, having to give evidence a second time when the case is heard again at a crown court.

In the year to March, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show youth courts dealt with 186 defendants aged under 18 charged with rape, up from 150 the previous year.

The trial in Essex where Abigail gave evidence lasted five days late last year. When it was her turn, she spoke via a live video link from a separate room so she didn't have to face her attacker.

Speaking from her home last month, Abigail said recounting the rape in court was the most difficult thing she has done. The two other victims had also given evidence via a live video link. The judge found the defendant, aged 16 at the time, guilty of three counts of rape and one of assault by penetration, but the three girls barely had time to process the verdict: the offender appealed soon after, meaning the case would be heard again, this time in the higher crown court.

Abigail has never met or spoken to the two other victims – they were unknown to each other before Essex police made the connection – but an unspoken solidarity has emerged. When told that she faced a rehearing, Abigail described the agonising choice before her. 'I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to go back there,' she said. 'But then I didn't want to let the other girls down, and I wanted to be strong. So I went back and did it because I wanted to get justice.'

The rise in police-recorded sexual offences against children by other children in England and Wales is prompting growing concern. Analysis by the National Police Chiefs' Council shows that children now account for about half of all suspects linked to child sexual abuse and exploitation offences where the suspect's age was known. Historically, child-on-child abuse accounted for about a third of such offences, highlighting the scale of the increase.

Experts have pointed to how misogynistic attitudes and widely available pornography have shaped some young people's understanding of relationships, consent and sexual behaviour. 'Harmful ideas are becoming normalised at an alarming rate, and our prevention efforts have not kept pace with the scale of

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that challenge," said Andrea Simon, Victims' Commissioner for London.

The rising number of reported sexual offences may also be linked to "increased awareness" of what constitutes a crime among young people, said Sharron Wareham from the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse. Her own experience as a social worker has shown her that many children who display harmful sexual behaviour have a history of being abused.

The government has been listening. In a March report, the Youth Justice Board noted how misogyny as well as childhood trauma are driving violence against women and girls both online and offline. An MoJ spokesperson told The Observer: "We are deeply concerned about child-on-child sexual violence... violence against women and girls is an epidemic, and we're treating it as one."

Amid the rise in reported child-on-child sexual violence, the youth court system is coming under greater scrutiny.

Earlier this year, in a Hampshire case, the non-custodial sentences given to three teenagers convicted of raping and filming two young victims in separate incidents triggered a national outcry. The sentences were eventually reviewed, and in two cases increased to a four-year detention.

The experience of rape survivors such as Abigail having to give evidence again is a concern for the youth justice system. Rowan Brooks, a registered intermediary who helps vulnerable victims give evidence during trials, has seen "first-hand how traumatic it can be for children

'Harmful ideas are being normalised at an alarming rate, and our prevention efforts have not kept pace with the scale of that challenge'

Andrea Simons, victims' commissioner for London

who have experienced sexual violence to revisit that incident again". Not only does it affect their wellbeing but it also has an impact on the quality of the evidence they provide, he said.

Claire Waxman, the victims' commissioner for England and Wales, told The Observer that "child victims should not be carrying the burden of avoidable flaws in our justice system". She added: "When there are proven ways to spare children from having to go through that ordeal more than once, we should be using them."

One measure has been shown to reduce the trauma of giving evidence. Since 2022, section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act has allowed vulnerable victims and witnesses in crown courts to pre-record their cross-examination before trial following a pilot in 2013. This is not available in magistrates' courts, including youth courts.

It's unclear exactly how many rape cases tried in youth courts are appealed. A freedom of information response from the MoJ said it does not hold that information. However, it is known that last year about 6,000 magistrates' court decisions were appealed to the crown court. Criminal lawyers who work in

youth courts told The Observer appeals were rare, not least because the defendant risked a more severe sentence at crown court. But with fewer than 3% of recorded rape cases charged by the end of 2024, and attrition rates high, it follows that appeals will be small in number.

The government appeared to realise the need to improve the experience for victims and to strengthen the system overall: in September 2022, Leeds Youth Court began a pilot programme on the use of Section 28, with the purpose of ensuring that victims and witnesses were questioned as early as possible after an offence and only once.

The MoJ confirmed that the pilot, which ended in April, meant witnesses would not have to repeat evidence if a case was appealed.

When asked about plans to extend the pilot or otherwise address the issue of giving evidence twice, an MoJ spokesperson said: "We are seeking to reform the magistrates' courts appeals process, which would reduce unnecessary hearings so victims are not forced to relive their trauma by giving evidence again."

Both Waxman and Amelia Handy from Rape Crisis England & Wales are calling for access to pre-recorded cross-examination for victims of sexual offences in youth

courts ahead of trial. "We are very concerned about the requirement for child victims to give evidence twice in rape cases," Handy said. It "may increase the chances of them withdrawing from the prosecution entirely", and can lead to "perceived inconsistencies in evidence, and ultimately undermine prosecutions".

In spring, Abigail prepared to give evidence a second time about the attack she had been trying to forget. She was in the middle of summer term and finding it hard to concentrate. "I was literally begging Dad to have days off every day," she said. "I felt overwhelmed at school with everyone around me." Her father, sitting by her side, recalled her distress at home. "She was crying to me. Crying to me at nighttime. It was tough," he said.

Three days before the crown court rehearing, Abigail pre-recorded her cross-examination via a live link to the courtroom under section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act. The questions that require victims to recount precise details of an attack were almost exactly the same as those asked at the youth court trial. But knowing what to expect made her more anxious. "I felt really under pressure that I had to do it again," she said.

At the three-day appeal, a judge and two magistrates watched the police video interviews with each of the three girls, and the newly recorded cross-examinations. They also heard from the offender, who gave evidence from the witness box. They heard how he had used Snapchat to talk to each victim days

Illustration by Marine Buffard

or weeks before the attacks took place. They heard how each girl had rejected his claims that the sex was consensual, each detailing how they had repeatedly asked him to stop. In Abigail's case, CCTV footage showed the offender leading her towards the spot where the rape took place.

Abigail and her father hope that by speaking out about her experience, the criminal justice system will improve. "Why wasn't it recorded the first time?" her father asked about the cross-examination. "It would have saved seeing her go through it all again. I felt sorry for the other girls as well. Seeing my girl cry at night-time all the time is heartbreaking.

"You've got to go back. Do it all again. Watch her walking in that room. It's hard, very hard." Abigail nodded as he spoke. "Make it recorded the first time so others don't have to go through it a second time," she said.

In his closing arguments, the prosecuting barrister described the "excalation" in the offender's attacks and how he was "pushing the limits to what he could get away with". He also described the courage of the three victims in sharing their experiences twice as "a heroic act".

On the third and final day the court dismissed the appeal.

At the sentencing hearing last week the prosecutor read out witness statements from two of the girls, and each of the victims' mothers. "Having to relive what happened has destroyed me," the 16-year-old victim wrote. But she also later felt she "needed to give evidence again so people are safe".

The statement from the 15-year-old victim's mother, who was in court, described how her daughter had almost pulled out after the offender appealed because of the "excruciating" experience of giving evidence the first time.

All three mothers described how their daughters had changed, felt unsafe, and were now scared to go out alone.

During the pleas in mitigation, the court heard about the offender's engagement with peers involved in criminal activities. "These things do not happen in a vacuum," said defence counsel Alfred Underwood, pointing to the role of peers, as well as the internet, in promoting a "sense of entitlement" and "a lack of empathy towards women".

The now 17-year-old was sentenced to eight and a half years in custody. He must also serve a two-year period of supervision in the community on an extended licence once his sentence is over.

Abigail and her family did not attend the sentencing, they chose instead to hear the outcome by phone from the police. Her father said they are focusing on rebuilding their lives. When asked last month what she would say to other teenage rape survivors, Abigail said: "Get justice and be strong. Just keep being strong. Keep fighting."

The names of the rape survivors in this story have been changed

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On a stroll through Regent's Park in London, the bestselling author talks to Rachel Sylvester about tightrope walking in heels, why young minds deserve the best of literature and what the death of her foster sister aged 10 taught her

The Observer Walk

Katherine Rundell

'I would like my books to say: you are right to be afraid. Be brave, anyway'

I meet Katherine Rundell at the top of Primrose Hill, one of the highest points in London. There are sweeping views from the north of the capital across its most famous landmarks, from the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament to the Shard and Canary Wharf. Down below is London Zoo, with its giant aviary and brutalist elephant house.

The bestselling author, who has clambered over the rooftops of Oxford, scaled Battersea power station, mastered the flying trapeze, been skydiving and flown a small plane, has always loved being on top of the world. Or perhaps she just likes a challenge. 'Actually, I am a little bit afraid of heights,' she says. 'I find that the extraordinary beauty and pleasure of being up high massively outweighs the fear, but the fear never goes away.'

Rundell, whose elfin features and long dark hair give her a slightly otherworldly appearance, seems to thrive on trying to achieve the impossible. At 21, she became the youngest female fellow of All Souls College by writing a three-hour essay about the French philosopher Jacques Derrida and Christmas crackers. When she arrived at

Oxford's most highbrow academic college, she strung a tightrope across her room and taught herself to walk across it in high heels. 'They were orange,' she says. 'You learn on your tiptoes. The heel never touches the wire – it just looks like it does – so it's actually a trick.'

Her roof-climbing escapades broke college rules but inspired her award-winning children's book Rooftoppers. Then she turned her thesis on the poet John Donne into a bestselling biography, Super-Infinite, for which she won the Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction. She donated the £50,000 prize money to conservation and refugee charities.

At 39, Rundell has published more than a dozen books. Her Impossible Creatures series – about magical islands and mythical beasts – has made her the first British author since JK Rowling to simultaneously top the children's book charts in the UK and the US. The Queen has promised to give a copy to all year 6 children, and Disney paid a seven-figure sum for the film rights. Rundell is writing the screenplay herself. 'I have loved it,' she says.

Photograph by Tom Pilston

'It is a question of transforming a medium where you have front-row access to someone's inner thoughts into a medium where allegory and meaning have to be visual and vocal. It's just a totally different thing.'

The third book in the series, The Neverfour, is out this month. Two more will follow over the next three years. 'This story is five,' Rundell says. 'I've written the ending. I know exactly where I'm going. I don't know how I'll get there.'

As we walk down the hill, past expanses of parched yellow grass stretching across the park, I ask why she writes for children rather than adults. 'Children are the most imaginatively and intellectually nimble readers,' she says. 'The reason I want to write for children is, in part, because I think children's literature is the space where imagination can operate most freely and without boundary, but also because I believe children deserve the very best we can give them.'

'They are the ones who need to be offered our finest efforts, our sharpest ideas, our best jokes, and they are also the most hungry for ideas, for truths, for clarity. I hope that my children's books are the best of my work.'

Martin Amis once said that he

would turn his hand to children's fiction only if he had a brain injury, but Rundell says it is the most challenging form of writing she does. 'It requires a constant rigour of imagination and attention to what the burgeoning young mind needs.' She insists children's writing can be great literature. 'Like all other art forms, there will always be a great deal that is not worth preserving, but there is also the Moomins and Pippi Longstocking and Alice in Wonderland. There is Northern Lights.' The Gruffalo, she says, is 'a work of genius'.

The 'defining book' of her own childhood was CS Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 'I knew that Narnia didn't exist because I understood the concept of fiction, but I still thought there was a possibility. I did genuinely check the wardrobe just in case, because it felt so real that the possibility of it was there – just out of reach.'

Rowling is more problematic. 'I loved the [Harry Potter] books as a kid, but one of the difficulties is that, because of her political stance, almost all of the discussion around children's fiction in Britain is about JK Rowling and her politics.'

A children's book should give a young person 'not just pleasure but power', Rundell says. 'I would love us to be having the discussion about the relationship between literacy and democracy, and the idea that we will need to be able to build long-form, complex arguments in the years to come, because faced with a group of people with unprecedented, untold wealth, we will need unprecedented, untold intellectual wealth in order to protect our freedoms and each other.'

We cross the road into Regent's Park and walk past the empty cricket pitch. Rundell worries that education has become so much about memory and exams that children are being turned off using their imaginations. 'I go into a lot of schools and so many teachers report that they find it so difficult to find space, in a curriculum which privileges testing over experience, to inject into a child's day pleasure in learning. The system does need rethinking.'

Children are 'amongst the most resilient people on the planet but we take advantage of it', she says. 'We despair of young people being on their phones, but where are they to go? A child cannot build a play park or a leisure centre or an open space. We have to build them for them.'

We take the path running parallel to the zoo. It is too hot for the monkeys to be outside and the tiger is hiding in the undergrowth. The camels peer out of their enclosure. 'It's summer, so they are shedding their winter coats – it peels off in great sheets – and they end up with a ruff around their neck like haughty dowager duchesses in fur coats looking down their noses at us,' Rundell says. 'If camels didn't exist and they were mythological, and someone explained that they could live on the fat of their own hump, and that their feet were so wide that they could walk over sands that a human would sink knee-deep into, we would think that implausible.'

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'We despair of young people being on their phones, but where are they to go': Katherine Rundell.

The impossible creatures in her books are all based on meticulous research. She spent hours scouring encyclopaedias of beasts, medieval manuscripts and Renaissance texts. 'The thing I promise children is that I never invent new creatures,' she says. 'I have on my laptop a database in which I have hundreds of creatures, and each one has all the references I have found next to it. My phone is full of photographs of a griffin I saw on the streets of Bath, or a hippocampus in the wrought iron of Venice.'

Her favourite mythical beast is the tiny jaculus dragon. 'I found it in Pliny's Historia Naturalis from AD70, which is full of both very serious accurate biological depictions and then a few which are gloriously insane. Pliny claimed that hedgehogs, in order to feed their young, roll in fallen apples until their spines are covered, and then run off to their burrows in trees.'

As we loop round the park's Ready Money drinking fountain, Rundell insists she does not want her books to be preachy. 'It's the height of rudeness and betrayal to other children a story and give them only a moral,' she says. But her novels do have values and a purpose. 'All books ever written have a morality, and my feeling is that fiction can be a place in which children can explore ideas.'

'Impossible Creatures is absolutely written in the knowledge of the climate crisis. It's about a beautiful world that is in peril. And, of course, we are on the brink of making a lot of living things the stuff of myth and legend... and so the book is in part about the idea that there is such a thing as too late.'

After months of heatwaves and wildfires across Europe, she says this summer has been 'the most terrifying of my life', but she thinks despair is as dangerous as complacency. 'The difficulty about saying 'we're all going to hell in a handcart' is it gives us the liberty to act as if we are already there. Nobody can save everything. Everyone can save something. Change is still possible. The answer to the question: 'When is it time to give up?' is never.'

We have reached the Queen Elizabeth II garden; waterlilies float on the pond. Rundell grew up in Zimbabwe, surrounded by nature. School finished at midday and she ran around barefoot, climbing trees, watching lizards and chasing monkeys. There were water scorpions in the pool. Her mother, a French lecturer, and her father, who worked in international

development, would tell her stories about centaurs and dragons.

When she was 10, her foster sister, Alison, died aged 16 as a result of a genetic illness. 'It was the greatest sorrow I'd ever experienced in my life, and remains so,' Rundell says. 'It taught me things about the world that other people learn a little later. I think I had longer with those truths – the fact that you would die for someone because you love them doesn't mean they won't die, or that when you love someone and they're no longer here, what do you do with that love? That is the question that anyone who has ever loved will have to face.'

She read constantly, for comfort and to escape. 'I think the thing that saved me at the time was the love I felt coming from those books.' Her own novels are woven through with darkness and loss. 'GK Chesterton said we do not turn to fairytales to know that dragons exist. We go to fairytales to know that dragons can be defeated,' she says. 'You know that fairytales will invoke every form of violence and misuse of power, of human cruelty, in order to say here is a spirit of heroic optimism that will show itself to be stronger than those things.'

'Fiction can be a place in which children can explore ideas'

I ask whether unconsciously at least she now writes for children who are the age she was when her sister died. 'I want to write books that could be read by a child who feels in need of a sense that their courage and their love are worthwhile,' she replies. 'Some kids will need to know that in moments of extremis, and some kids will just need to know that on a Tuesday, because it is very hard to be a child. I would like my books to say: you are right to be afraid. Be brave, anyway.'

It may be no coincidence that she has set herself the challenge of creating a fantastical world into which children can escape. 'Do I write children's books because I was a child of exactly the same age when my sister died? It's definitely not that straightforward.'

'It wouldn't be a cause and effect so immediate as that. Is there some element of that being one of the reasons that this is the age I write for? Of course, there must be. But it is also just a form of literature I adore.'

The Neverfear is published on 27 August by Bloomsbury

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World

'Jimmy Lai is entering the final phase of his journey from media mogul to prisoner and, now, political martyr' → Danny Vincent, Hong Kong, page 22

'A human river': how the Ceuta surge split Europe and emboldened the right

False claims on social media that Spain's border was open drew thousands of struggling Moroccans to try their luck. It was just the start of the political crisis, reports Isabel Coles in Ceuta

Umaima Elazizi was at home in Tangier when she saw the posts on social media.

Young Moroccans like her were flashing V signs for the camera after swimming to Spain. All you needed was a wetsuit and flippers, some posted. Spain had relaxed control of the border, others claimed. The 21-year-old had dreamed of living in Europe since she was a girl, but it had never looked so easy – maybe even fun.

'Why not go?' Elazizi said to herself. 'Why should I stay here?'

In Morocco, she faced a struggle to find work after training as a nurse. Two days later, Elazizi caught a taxi with three friends and joined a rush on one of Europe's only two land borders with Africa.

Ayyub Sarhani was at work in Tangier when he opened Facebook on 30 July and saw posts claiming that the frontier with Spain was open. It was payday but the 21-year-old electrician skipped off without collecting his wages. 'I didn't think twice,' he told The Observer.

Sarhani had tried to reach Ceuta before. Once, when he was 17, he had made it, only to be sent back to Morocco. Another time, the Spanish civil guard had intercepted him. Here was a fresh chance for a better future – and Sarhani wasn't going to miss it.

Saleh Bakour was asleep when a relative called at 6am on 30 July to tell him the border was open. The 15-year-old left without telling his parents and caught a bus from Bab Berred to the coast. From there, he walked 33km (20 miles) to the border. Others came from Fez, Casablanca and Khenifra, converging on a small town near the border with the tiny Spanish exclave of Ceuta.

Footage of the surge of 70,000 people swarming over the border spread like wildfire on social media, igniting a political firestorm across Europe that has been eagerly weaponised by

Soldiers escort arrivals in Ceuta towards the border with Morocco on 3 August, Ivan Zambrano / Europa Press, SA Aniston

the political right. The apparent ease with which online disinformation triggered a mass migration on this scale has fuelled political tensions and stirred fears of a repeat.

The commotion, as thousands of Moroccans arrived at the border with Ceuta, reached two Sudanese men hiding in the forests above nearby Fnideq. 'We heard the Moroccans shouting,' said 29-year-old Abdelsalam Abdullah.

The two friends had made several attempts to scale the eight-metre-high barrier along the border with Ceuta – another obstacle in a four-year journey that had taken them through Chad, Libya and Algeria. Each time, they were caught and dumped in the desert back near Algeria. Now they hurried down to the water. 'We saw them jumping in the sea and we followed them,' said Abdullah.

The influx overwhelmed Ceuta and its population of just 84,000, exposing deep divisions between governments in Europe.

The surge unfolded within hours, but had been brewing for weeks, since Spain's supreme court ruled on 8 July that anyone who tried to swim to Ceuta could not immediately be pushed back to Morocco. News of the ruling spread quickly on social media – and was immediately distorted. Anyone who made it to Ceuta by sea was now entitled to stay, it was falsely claimed.

By mid-July, Moroccans across the country were mobilising on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Discord and X. On Facebook groups, users posted maps and instructions for crossing, and recommended equipment, racking up millions of views. Tips were swapped on WhatsApp groups and other messaging platforms.

Along the 8km border with Morocco, troops with the Spanish civil guard were feeling the pressure. The number of people attempting to scale the fence or swim to Ceuta typically increases in summer, but this was different.

As the flow increased, the president of Ceuta contacted the office of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez. Over the previous week, 1,500 people had entered the territory, which measures just 18.5 sq km. On the previous day alone, 500 people had crossed. At this rate, Ceuta would soon be overwhelmed, Juan Jesús Vivas warned Sánchez's chief of staff on 27 July. In a conversation with the interior ministry the next day, Vivas urged the government to declare a state of emergency in Ceuta. That was legally impossible, the interior ministry informed him on 29 July.

'The government trusted – like a meek lamb – that Morocco would act as a loyal partner' Javier Celaya, MP

'The government knew that a migration crisis could erupt at any moment, yet it trusted – like a meek little lamb – that Morocco would act as a loyal partner,' said Javier Celaya, a People's party (PP) MP for Ceuta.

When he began to receive images of people crossing in droves [on the morning of July 30], Celaya immediately shared them with fellow MPs. Then he drove to the border. The scene stunned him. 'I saw a human river,' he said.

There was nothing the civil guards could do to stop it, but where was the army?

It is not the first time something like this had happened: in May 2021, about 8,000 people flooded into Ceuta after Morocco relaxed border controls during a diplomatic row with Spain. Relations between Madrid and Rabat have improved since then, but it is hard to believe so many Moroccans could gather in one place without the knowledge of the authorities.

It was evening when Elazizi reached the border. As she ran towards the water, a Moroccan border guard grabbed her by the wrist. She flung herself into the sea to break his grip. After about 20 minutes she reached dry land with nothing but her phone in a waterproof case. 'I was happy, of course,' she said.

Others described struggling to keep their heads above water as weaker swimmers clung on to them. More than 80 people drowned.

Those who made it found there was nowhere to go. Fearful residents had shut up shop and retreated into their homes. In the streets there was chaos. Some locals armed themselves with baseball bats and broomsticks for self-defence. Others hid people in their homes as the army was deployed to reverse the tide. Hamza al-Saadouni, a 17-year-old from Fez, said a woman had hidden a group of men including his elder brother in a garage, but neighbours told the authorities and they were driven out. By the following day, most of the incomers had been pushed back over the border, driven out by a mixture of hunger, thirst and force.

The political crisis was only just beginning for Sánchez, who has made powerful enemies among conservative governments in Europe, the US and Israel. Visiting Ceuta, the prime minister described the events as an

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A 12-year-old unaccompanied boy begs a soldier not to send him back to Morocco.

Britain. Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), declared that “Germany is the likely destination” for the people entering Ceuta.

The crisis received blanket coverage in the US. In a video purporting to show “the truth” from Ceuta, conservative influencer Nick Shirley filmed himself running away from people he claimed were migrants throwing rocks at him. The post has 12m views on X.

An analysis last week by 411, a counter-disinformation group, found that far-right social media posts during the crisis were amplified and spread by accounts with links to the Russian military.

Days after the surge, residents thronged the streets of Ceuta for the annual procession of their patron saint. Local dignitaries and a band followed a 15th-century wooden statue of the Virgin of Africa down a promenade beside the harbour.

For several hours, it felt as if residents had got their city back. Then the worries returned.

“The question we keep asking ourselves is: will it happen again?” Vivas said in an interview with Spain’s public broadcaster.

The number of migrants who remain in Ceuta is unknown. The Spanish authorities say there are about 2,000, but it could be three times that many, according to Vivas, including hundreds of unaccompanied children. All of them must be returned to Morocco, he said, warning of risks to public order and security.

Outside one centre for incomers, Elazizi was sitting on a blanket with others from Afghanistan and Eritrea. One of her friends had decided to return to Morocco and now regretted it, she said. She has always imagined herself in Germany because she studied the language, but will settle for Spain if she can get there. “Morocco is not my place,” she said.

Calls are already circulating on Facebook for another run on the border on 15 August. In some groups, there are posts selling wetsuits and flippers alongside pleas for information about people who went missing on 30 July.

Spain deployed a floating barrier to close the legal loophole exposed by the supreme court’s ruling, but many question whether it will be enough.

attack on Spain’s territorial integrity, but many European allies turned on him, revealing deep divisions between rightwing and leftwing governments across the continent.

Italy blamed his centre-left government’s open migration policies and suspended free movement with Spain. As rifts deepen across Europe, Sánchez’s government hit back on Friday, announcing that it would “reinstate border controls” on visitors from Italy.

The Trump administration, which has blamed unchecked immigration for Europe’s “civilisational decline” in recent months, seized on the scenes in Ceuta with glee. The US president has called for Spain to be thrown out of Nato following a standoff over defence spending and the Iran War, and the White House was swift to blame Sánchez’s “far-left globalist policies” for the chaos at the border.

Spain’s intelligence services found that Rabat did not orchestrate the surge as it had in 2021, but nor did

Moroccan forces seek to prevent it. As Morocco celebrated the enthronement of King Mohammed VI, surveillance along the border was reduced and eventually lifted entirely, the Spanish daily El País reported.

Spain’s inability to protect the border has raised questions about its sovereignty over Ceuta and another exclave, which are both claimed by Morocco.

“What began as a migration crisis has ultimately been instrumentalised by the Moroccan government to challenge Spain,” Celaya said. “Spain has suffered a hybrid attack.”

The next threat came from the Spanish mainland. Eager to capitalise on the turmoil, far-right politicians flocked to Ceuta vowing to reconquer the city, which has a mixed population of Muslims and Christians.

Members of Spain’s neo-Nazi National Nucleus disembarked at the port wearing black T-shirts with the group’s white emblem. They were not welcome. Far-right Spanish politician

and European parliament member Alvise Pérez was forced to take refuge in a cafe. Hostile locals banged on the window shouting “racist”.

“This is an absolute disgrace,” Pérez said in a video filmed inside the police van that escorted him back to the port.

Other rightwing politicians and activists from across Europe and beyond seized the opportunity to whip up their own followers. Reform party leader Nigel Farage posted a video falsely claiming that Moroccans who had made it into Ceuta were already on their way to

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After six years in solitary, Jimmy Lai's prison letters foretell a martyr's end

Notes and drawings from his Hong Kong jail cell offer a glimpse of the pro-democracy media tycoon's lonely world. His family tell Danny Vincent why they fear he won't survive much more of his 20-year sentence for crossing Beijing

At Stanley prison, on the southern edge of Hong Kong Island, Jimmy Lai's solitary confinement extends far beyond the walls of his cell. His family says the 78-year-old is being held alone on an otherwise empty floor, monitored by a single guard. Even the floors directly above and below him are deserted, the cells and corridors left empty.

For six years, the pro-democracy media tycoon has been in prison, alone. Lai, who is a British citizen, spends 23 hours a day in his cell and exercises by himself. In February, he was given a 20-year sentence under Hong Kong's draconian national security law, imposed by China as it tightens its grip on the former British colony. His family say it amounts to a death sentence.

Notes, drawings and extracts of letters seen exclusively by The Observer offer a narrow window on

Lai's life behind bars. They reveal a man whose health is failing, his only company a growing list of more than 100 books, steeped in Catholic theology. Lai is reading the works of St Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Pope Benedict XVI, scribbling in prison notepads, writing letters and drawing Christ on the cross.

"I could not stand up after I sat back down in my cell," he wrote in one letter. "Two guards came in to help me stand."

Lai's children spoke out about his declining health last year, warning of his dramatic weight loss and rotting teeth and nails. Within weeks, the redacted medical reports they used to receive every few months stopped coming.

The family now say they have little information about the state of his health. They fear that without political intervention Lai is entering the final phase of his journey from billionaire businessman and media mogul to prisoner and, finally,

political martyr. In his letters, Lai writes often of endurance and sacrifice. "Truth and justice must stand above our comfort and wellbeing," he wrote in one letter. "Otherwise, our lives will be lived with 'a millstone hung on our neck.''

Other letters reveal Lai's growing preoccupation with his Catholic faith. His children revealed that prison guards had refused to let him receive communion. But from his cell, he has churned out drawings of the Virgin Mary and the crucifixion. "I think his letters and drawings attest to how he has grown in faith. His letters especially paint an image of a man journeying and deepening

'Jimmy exemplifies what the Chinese totalitarian regime hates about freedom'

Chris Patten, ex-governor

in his faith," said his daughter Claire Lai, who lives in self-imposed exile in London.

The sentence handed down to Lai was the harshest issued to date under the national security law imposed by Beijing. The founder of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was convicted of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publish seditious material during huge protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019. Lai was the most prominent of the hundreds arrested under the new law. To his supporters, his imprisonment symbolises the erosion of Hong Kong's judicial independence and the dismantling of a once vibrant pro-democracy movement.

"Every day he's in prison Hong Kong is creating an ongoing liability for China," his son Sebastien Lai said. "He's the purest form of a political prisoner and a prisoner of conscience. He has suffered great cruelty and injustice, and Hong Kong's global reputation has been greatly damaged, with nothing to show for it."

Hong Kong has denied claims that Lai is being refused medical care. Authorities say he receives "adequate and comprehensive" treatment in custody. Correctional officers claim he has frequent

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3 days ago, after sitting down sticking and folding big envelopes. I hurt my back so bad that after bath putting on my pants probably hurting it, I could not stand up after I sat down back in my cell. Two guards came in to help me stand only hurt

Jimmy Lai, left, photographed in June 2020 in Hong Kong. Anthony Wallace/ AFP, Getty

Above: Lai arrives at court in May 2020 to face charges. Kin Cheung/JRP

medical checks and reject allegations his treatment is politically motivated. But his family say that his health is deteriorating rapidly and without help he will die in prison.

Donald Trump raised Lai's case with China's President Xi Jinping during a trip to Beijing in May. Lai's children are also calling on the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, to do more to bring their father home. Keir Starmer came under fire for failing to secure Lai's release during a visit to China earlier this year.

A UK government spokesperson said that the foreign secretary, Ed Millband, had already raised Lai's case with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Manila last month. "Jimmy Lai's case continues to be a priority for this government," the spokesperson said.

But Lai's children remain fearful. Sebastien Lai said: "Every day is also a risk to his life. In my father you have an exemplary British citizen, a man whose sacrifice has reminded us of the value of a free world. We cannot allow him to die in prison."

Lai was born in mainland China and smuggled himself to British Hong Kong as a 12-year-old. He worked as a child labourer, worked his way up the garment industry and founded his own clothing brand, where he made his fortune.

He became a vocal pro-democracy activist and outspoken critic of Communist China following the crushing of protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. In June 1995 he founded Apple Daily, a pro- democracy tabloid, and used it to criticise the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities. That criticism grew with the British handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997. The former British colony was promised political freedoms not granted to the rest of China, including an independent judicial system, a free press and free speech.

Over time, China tightened its grip on Hong Kong. Lai was a prominent figure at the 2014 protests by the so-called Umbrella Movement, triggered after Beijing refused to allow free elections in Hong Kong. Protests erupted again in 2019 after a bill was introduced that would allow extradition from Hong Kong to China. After a weeks- long standoff, marches turned violent, with protesters storming Hong Kong's legislative council. Police responded with teargas, water cannon and rubber bullets.

Lai was a critic of the proposed bill. At the height of the protests, he flew to Washington, where he met the then vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo

to discuss the threat to Hong Kong's autonomy. That trip would become the centrepiece of the case against him when he was arrested the following year and charged under the new national security law.

Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee claimed Lai used Apple Daily to "poison the minds of the people of Hong Kong". Lee alleged that Lai had used the newspaper to "create social conflicts, incite social antagonism, incite hatred, glorify violence and openly beg for foreign sanctions against China". Prosecutors said the seriousness of Lai's offences was comparable to murder.

Lai's supporters say his decision to stay in Hong Kong has made him a symbol of the decimation of the pro-democracy movement. About 170,000 Hong Kong residents have moved to the UK under visa rules introduced in 2021.

"Jimmy Lai did it deliberately. He had the means to leave. He has a British passport, but he chose to stay because he believes Hong Kong gave

In one letter, top, Jimmy Lai reveals he was unable to stand after hurting his back, while his prooccupation with his Catholic faith is evident in prison drawings. Jimmy Lai

him everything," one activist told The Observer.

Lai's family continue to seek international support for his release. His wife Teresa and daughter Claire met Pope Leo at the Vatican before the trial verdict last year. But the Vatican is engaged in its own negotiations with Beijing and has remained silent on Lai's detention.

"One reason why the Chinese Communists hate Jimmy Lai so much is not just that he represents much of what was best in Hong Kong. But he was prepared to stand up for it, even when he could have left at any moment, and even when he knew that if he stayed, sooner or later, the police state would come after him," said Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong. "I think Jimmy Lai exemplifies what the Chinese totalitarian regime hates about freedom."

He said the national security law had transformed the city. "People who think prosperity exists without the rule of law don't understand how open societies work."

More than 400 people have been arrested under the law and critics say its enforcement is expanding. Last month, on the first day of the city's annual book fair, two independent bookshops were raided. Police arrested five workers under suspicion of displaying seditious material.

"The government says it does not want a banned books list, but it wants to keep things vague, so no one knows what kind of books they can buy," one activist said. "It creates an overwhelming chilling effect on people who read."

Eric Lai, a Hong Kong legal expert who is not related to Jimmy Lai, said: "The enforcement of the national security law by security police is persistently expanding. It marks the loss of political impartiality and nonpartisan nature of a common law court in Hong Kong and becomes merely a tool for the government to crack down on people."

In an industrial park in Hong Kong's New Territories stands the abandoned headquarters of Lai's newspaper, Apple Daily. Once one of the territory's most popular papers, it was raided twice after the national security law took effect and finally shut down in 2021. "The Hong Kong government wants to get rid of all voices which are different from or not aligned with it or the Beijing government," said a former reporter for the paper who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

Sebastien Lai said his father "knew exactly what he was giving up" when he chose to remain in Hong Kong. "He chose to stand up for the freedom of others," he said. "A life of peace for a life of meaning."

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24 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

World

‘It’s like being in your house with your child’s killer, while wolves circle outside’

British-Iranian documentary maker Ben Zand and his team have obtained rare interviews with people inside Iran who have risked their lives to speak out about the regime and the war

Bahar is a social worker in Tehran. She’s a veteran of women’s rights protests and someone who has always been ‘anti-Israel and anti-American’.

She has always had her differences with the government she lives under, but when war with the US started to look probable, she did not welcome it. Change, for her, had to come from Iranians themselves. Not from the bombs of a foreign power.

Then, on the night of 28 February, as US and Israeli missiles hit Tehran and word spread that the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had been killed, Bahar (not her real name) did something she did not expect. She danced. ‘I don’t like war, and I don’t like foreign intervention,’ she told us. ‘But put that aside, and dance till dawn.’ For one night only, she said. She was very happy.

Six months on, Bahar feels trapped. Like many Iranians who agreed to talk to us about the war – at great risk to themselves – she now finds herself in an impossible position between two forces, neither of which she feels has her best interests at heart.

My father is Iranian, and Iran was always a strange part of my childhood growing up in Liverpool. It was a parallel world I experienced through family, food, phone calls and stories about a country I was told had changed for ever. I grew up with the deep patriotism and self-censorship a lot of Iranians experience. Proud of their roots but terrified of the long tentacles of the Islamic Republic.

I visited the country once as a teenager, but after becoming a journalist and documentary film-maker, asking difficult questions, Iran became a place I could not visit again. The regime has a habit of jailing people with my combination of passport and profession.

So when we set out to make a film about Iran this year, we did it the only way that felt right: as a story told entirely by Iranians on the ground. Speaking out can come with the worst possible consequences, so many of their identities are hidden for their protection.

The story starts before a single bomb falls. In December, traders

Clockwise from top left: anti-government demonstrations in January: a pro-regime protest in April; a woman walks in western dress in Tehran in June; and a US strike on the capital in March. Academic/Getty Images, ITV/Zandland

The hijab has in effect stopped being policed; people describe flowing hair and crop tops on streets

began protesting in the bazaars, worn down by a collapsed currency and surging petrol prices. By January, the demonstrations had become what were probably the largest and most widespread in living memory. After initial jubilation, the crackdown came.

The people we spoke to describe security forces kneeling to steady their aim, the green dots of sniper laser sights moving across crowds, hospitals stormed and injured protesters arrested in their beds. A source on the ground told us the police had been instructed to kill. Human rights activists in Iran say 6,488 protesters lost their lives in those early January days, with thousands more deaths still reportedly under review.

One of the people we filmed, Yasaman, went to the protest with her family. Her son had just left university; he loved rap music, wanted tattoos, wanted to be famous. In the gunfire, she was separated from him, and when a stranger finally answered her son’s phone, they directed her to a garage where he lay dead, having been shot in the heart. Days later, because the morgues were so full, she was made to identify him on a monitor, scrolling photographs of the dead,

boys of 15 up to men in their 60s, many with faces too damaged to recognise. She told us that afterwards she prayed day and night for the destruction of Khamenei and his bloodline.

By February, many grieving Iranians, hanging on to Donald’s Trump’s pledge that ‘help is on its way’, were openly saying that they wanted the US to attack.

Mitra, a single mother who had turned a flat into a field hospital for injured protesters too afraid to go to hospital, put it bluntly: the regime would only end through war, and Trump would have to kill Khamenei.

From the outside, this sounded like madness or propaganda. Up close, it was neither. After young people are shot for wanting more freedoms, wanting war is not geopolitics. It is grief, and revenge, and the terrible logic of people who have tried everything else. None of these people arrived there lightly. They were pushed, over decades, one funeral or injustice at a time.

Then the bombs came and, for a moment, the very thing the grieving had prayed for seemed to be

happening. Khamenei was dead after 37 years as supreme leader. People celebrated on rooftops. For one night, protesters felt a long-awaited change was coming. Neighbours visited Yasaman to congratulate her. Bahar danced. But within days, reality hit. Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, was installed as the third supreme leader. The state did not collapse. It adapted, and turned inward.

The bombs kept falling on people they were supposed to liberate. In Minab, a US Tomahawk missile hit a school, killing more than 170 civilians, 120 of them children. The US launched a preliminary inquiry, but has not publicly accepted responsibility for one of the worst single atrocities of the war.

With Iran still refusing to fold, the US president threatened on 7 April, in writing, that ‘a whole civilisation will die tonight’, never to be brought back. For the people we were filming, there was nowhere to run from such a sentence. They held their breath and prayed.

By the ceasefire on the same day, human rights monitors had confirmed that more than 1,700

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Top: a woman walks in front of a giant banner in Tehran earlier this month.

Above, Iranian police stand guard in the capital in July. Anadolu, John Moore/Getty Images

Inside Iran: War & Revolution is aired tonight at 10.15pm on ITV1 and internationally on Zandland's YouTube channel, youtube.com/@zandland

civilians had been killed by US and Israeli strikes – at least 250 of them children – since the war began.

Trump is now staring at a strategic defeat in Iran. Nearly six months on from demanding the regime's 'unconditional surrender', a deal that will leave Iran in control of the Strait of Hormuz appears the only way out of the crisis for the White House. When the war began, Trump urged the Iranian people to "rise up", declaring, "the hour of your freedom is at hand." Now, he appears poised to declare victory and walk away.

The war handed the regime its most useful gift. Tehran filled with checkpoints overnight, and every dissident could now be recast as a foreign agent. People were detained simply for filming on their phones. The protesters of January were now not just agitators – they were traitors in wartime. At least 26 people have so far been executed in connection to the protests.

Parin, an artist who was in January's protests, describing them as a good dream, found the words for where this leaves people: "It feels like being inside your own house with your child's killer, while a pack of wolves circles outside."

Since the war, the conversation about Iran has hardened into two camps. The first welcomed the strikes and tied the cause of a free Iran to Israel and Washington: the regime is the only problem and whoever fights it is a friend. Reza Pahlavi is seen by many as its

figurehead. He is the exiled son of the last shah, whose call to protest in January helped fill the streets, but whose links to the US and Israel divide even those who marched.

The second camp, growing louder in the west, has recast the Islamic Republic as an anti-imperialist power standing up to the US and Israel, its people rallying behind the flag. A reminder, for anyone who believes in democracy, freedom and the right of expression: the Iranian government cannot claim to be any of those things. As a British-Iranian who has spent this war unable to give a clean answer about how I feel, I understand how people arrive at both positions.

This article is not a defence of the war, which has made almost everything worse: it has entrenched the regime it was meant to end, killed hundreds of children and handed the state a licence to brand its critics as traitors. Understanding why desperate, grieving people wanted it is not the same as saying they were right to want it, and it is certainly not praise for the powers who delivered it. What I hope the film does is to humanise all-but forgotten Iranian voices.

Mojgan Ilanlou has seen every version of this country. As a schoolgirl in 1979, she was chosen to sing the shah's anthem; months later, after the revolution, she was handed a new sheet of paper and asked to sing for the leader of a new kind of nation, Ruhollah Khomeini. She has opposed the Islamic Republic most of her life, and been jailed for it. But she was also against the war and devastated by what had happened in Minab.

She was asking the question few wanted to hear: even if it removes the regime, can you guarantee what follows is better? Her answer came another way. During the war, she says five masked men came to her door, beat her, held a gun to her head and drove her, blindfolded, to an empty building. Her crime was giving an interview to foreign media. They released her at 4am. She then gave an interview to us.

Speaking out, she says, is the least of her duties to bereaved families.

I do not know what comes next, and find it hard to trust anyone who claims to. But Iran has undeniably changed. The hila has, for now, in effect stopped being policed; interviewees describe flowing hair and crop tops on streets where that was recently unimaginable. At the same time, the executions of protesters, for doing as little as sending videos abroad, are accelerating; last month, they were carried out in Isfahan, in the square where the demonstrations began.

What has ended, for almost everyone we filmed, is a belief that liberation can come from the skies. The war so many prayed for has entrenched the system it was meant to destroy, and the people trapped between the killer and the wolves know it better than any commentator. What is left is smaller, harder and more human; parents dancing defiantly on their children's graves, people risking everything to talk to us because they are betting that somewhere out there, someone is still listening.

World

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

25

“Humbled Democrats need to overcome identity crisis

COMMENT

Hugh Tomlinson

US correspondent

“T

hey want to cancel Thanksgiving, they want to cancel

Christmas... they want sharia law,” Texas senator Ted Cruz told Fox News last week. “They hate Jews, they hate Christians, they hate capitalism. They hate America.”

A casual viewer who concluded someone had struck a political nerve would be right on the money.

The Democratic party establishment has suffered a string of embarrassing defeats to the insurgent left throughout this summer's primary season. But last week's Senate primary in Michigan, won by the Muslim progressive Abdul el-Sayed over centrist congresswoman Haley Stevens, was an abject humiliation for the Democratic leadership and a political earthquake for the party.

Mainstream Democratic grandees had rallied in lockstep behind Stevens in the most expensive primary in party history – and lost.

Establishment candidates have this year lost a string of primaries to Democratic socialists in safe blue districts such as New York and Colorado. El-Sayed showed that progressives can now win statewide in a swing state that voted for Donald Trump less than two years ago.

But the bruising Michigan primary again laid bare a civil war over Israel and the future direction of the Democratic party between its younger activist wing and the older, pro-Israel establishment.

El-Sayed is an outspoken critic of Israel, condemning the war in Gaza as a "genocide" and calling for an end to US military aid for the Jewish state. Stevens has previously declared herself a "passionate Zionist" and said that "Israel comes to me in my dreams".

She outspent el-Sayed by nine to one, backed by more than $60m ($45m) from outside groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).

El-Sayed's call to get money out of political campaigning and redirect military aid into healthcare and schools won out, but only just. His victory, by a solitary percentage point, has raised fears among Democratic leaders that his leftwing platform will be too radical for swing voters in November's midterm election, when he will take on former Republican congressman Mike Rogers.

As el-Sayed's win was confirmed, he admitted "there's a lot of healing to do". But within hours of Stevens conceding, reports emerged that

Aipac would throw its weight behind Rogers. Democratic strategists fear Jewish voters will follow.

"Whatever money Jews are putting into the campaign will absolutely go to Rogers. The traditional relationship between Jews and the Democratic party for anyone over 40 is over," said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran strategist and former adviser to Bill Clinton.

Scenting blood, Republicans are already laying out a familiar strategy that is brutal in its simplicity. "El-Sayed is an Islamist," Cruz told Fox, warning that the US was facing a "green-red convergence" between radical Islam and communism.

Rogers is hammering el-Sayed with claims of antisemitism as he tries to win over disaffected Democrats and independents who voted for Stevens. The Maga influencer Laura Loomer called him "a jihadist". Trump has condemned him as "a man of hate".

Centrist Democrats are now torn. Defeat for el-Sayed in November would vindicate their belief that Stevens was more electable and stem the socialist tide, but throw away a winnable Senate seat and probably doom their hopes of taking back the upper chamber.

But if he wins, becoming the first Muslim senator in US history, it would reaffirm the grip of the progressive grip on the party. It would also amplify calls for a leftwing candidate such as the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to jump into the 2026 presidential race.

That candidate would become a lightning rod for the party's many divisions. Democratic voters no longer trust their leaders to tell them who is electable after the catastrophe of Joe Biden's 2024 re-election campaign, when the party ignored polls showing voters' concerns about the president's age.

Republican delight at the Democratic rift is tempered by their own challenges. A war with Iran that Trump promised in March would be over in weeks is now colliding with the autumn campaign.

The president's approval rating continues to tumble, hitting 32% in one recent poll as frustration grows at his handling of the US economy.

"Voters' perception is reality," said one Republican strategist. "You can tell them the fundamentals of the economy are stronger today and we've had to undo the damage that was done [under Biden]. But when they're not feeling it, it's not great."

With Republicans unable to run on Trump's record, according to the strategist, they have few options but to revive the spectre of radical Islam or communism and lean into fear-mongering. He said: "The big message [for November] is: 'The Democrats are crazy and they've lost their minds.'"

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

27

Jodrell Bank offers a sense of pride in place. It's a spiritual home

→ Teresa Anderson, page 33

Serious vocational education is the best way to help failed pupils – it isn't 'bringing back stupid' Philip Collins

An emphasis on academic outcomes has worked for the brightest but left many behind to become Neets. They deserve better

The politics of education can be done by numbers. Should there be one comprehensive system, two systems in which one is vocational and the other academic – or three systems made up of a grammar, a secondary modern and a technical stream? We need to do the arithmetic again because Lucy Powell, the new education secretary, has criticised the schools system for its tendency to 'over-focus' on academic outcomes. Michael Gove, one of her Tory predecessors, the best of recent vintage, summarised this take as a wish to 'bring back stupid'.

To see why Powell is more right than wrong, we need to go back through the history of education to the first attempt to divide the school system into three. During the wartime coalition, the 1944 Butler Act purported to introduce a tripartite system of grammar schools, technical schools and secondary moderns.

The Butler Act contained two serious mistakes. The first was to divide grammars from secondary moderns, which stamped a brand of 'second-rate' on those who failed their 11-plus. Bringing back the grammar schools, with which the right is obsessed, really would be bringing back stupid.

By 1959, when grammar schools were more prevalent than they had been, or have been since, they educated the brightest 20% of the cohort. But of all the grammar school pupils who gained two A-levels or more, just 0.3% came from the skilled working class.

The grammar school was a device for class separation. Comprehensives were not born out of the ideological fantasies of the Labour education secretary Tony Crosland; they were demanded by middle-class parents whose children were not making it into grammar school. In this way, the two systems slowly became one.

That there were not two systems left – the academic and the technical – is due to Butler's second, and even more consequential, mistake. His promised technical education simply never materialised. The emerging

A lecturer and pupils with an electric car at Garretts Green Technical College, Birmingham, in 1979. Micropix/Getty Images

comprehensive school, begun by Crosland but accelerated by Margaret Thatcher during her spell as education secretary from 1970 to 1974, became a wholly academic affair.

The comprehensive school was based on the fond idea – standard-issue in the Labour party of the time and which the romantic Mr Gove shares – that if we provide an academic schooling to all, then a few diamonds will emerge from out of the rough. It describes Gove's trajectory well enough, and it tells my own story too, but there are just not enough people around like Gove and me. You may be grateful for this.

I can understand Gove's irritation at Powell's criticism, because there is a great deal to be proud of in the English school system. The success is owed to both the main parties, and it began almost 40 years ago with Kenneth Baker's Education Reform Act 1988, which introduced the city technology college.

This was the template for the city academies that the Tony Blair government introduced in the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and which Gove expanded with the Academies Act 2010. Britain has climbed the international rankings during this time. Literacy and numeracy have improved and so has scientific understanding.

There is one glaring exception to this bipartisan success. There is still too long a tail of students who do really badly. In 2024 more than 30,000 pupils did not achieve a grade 1 or higher in their English GCSE. Just under 7,000 pupils entered but did not get a grade, and 23,500 had given up before they took the exam. In maths 32,000 did not achieve grade 1 or higher, 10,000 failed and 22,000 did not enter. Many of these students are enduring years of history and geography and

coming out with nothing. The English schools system is brilliant for the richest – some in private schooling, of course – and very good for most, but woeful for too many.

This failure spills out into the labour market. Alan Milburn's recent report for the secretary of state for welfare and pensions showed that 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training (Neets) and that nearly 60% of them have never had a job. In 1964, 70% of 15-year-old school leavers had no formal qualifications, but it didn't really matter. They passed from school into work, because an industrial economy was spinning off jobs for which they were trained in the workplace. The world of coal, steel and textiles is not coming back, irrespective of the prime minister's occasional lapses into nostalgia about industrial Britain. It is precisely because Andy Burnham is optimistic to a fault on this that he needs the reforms suggested by his education secretary.

And there is, indeed, a solution on hand that, far from cementing a divide between academic and technical, brings the two systems back into one. It is the brainchild of the author of the 1988 Act, Lord Baker. At his university technical colleges (UTCs), students start at 14 and study for diplomas in serious subjects such as engineering alongside the basics of English, maths and science. They graduate at 19, either into work or higher education, two destinations made feasible by the sponsors of the colleges being a business and a university.

Gove's former adviser, Sam Freedman, has written of the frosty relationship his boss had with Baker. Gove thought that forcing pupils to choose a life course at 14 was too early, and it is a serious objection. It is surely countered, though, by the fact that many people do understand their own aptitudes at 14, and it is countered too by the fact that, as Powell has rightly said, technical excellence does not need to be traded off against academic excellence. The education consultant Daisy Christodoulou has pointed out that the vocational certificates with the highest labour market value all require considerable academic ability. There is a probable paradox here. The pupils who are performing poorly will surely do better academically if they are embedded in a curriculum that is demonstrably giving them a start in life. And that is surely better than forcing them down a path that will lead them nowhere.

Andrew Ravensley is away

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28 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

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The racism black academics face isn't helped by leaping to Jason Arday's defence Kenan Malik

It is a story from which few emerge looking clean. Not Jason Arday, the 'youngest black professor at Cambridge University', who has been at the centre of a storm about plagiarism and lies, and who resigned his university post last Wednesday. Nor the institutions that have exploited him to flaunt their supposed success in promoting diversity. Nor Arday's defenders who, rather than look at the facts, have dismissed the allegations as 'racist smears'. And while many of his critics have been invaluable in helping excavate the truth, too many over the past week have pounced on it as a 'gotcha' story, leading to a pile-on that has encouraged racists to vent their venom.

Arday's is a remarkable story, at least as he tells it. His autobiography Great and Unfortunate Things, due to be published later this month, recounts being raised in a south London council house and diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay at the age of three. He could not talk until almost 12, nor read and write until an adult. As a teenager, he was so badly beaten up by a gang that he developed epilepsy. Such tribulations did not prevent Arday from gaining a degree, a master's and a PhD, even though for most of this journey he could, in his own telling, read no better than his three-year-old daughter.

Shortly before completing his PhD thesis, he developed a brain tumour, followed by a mini-stroke,

Once hailed as Cambridge's youngest black professor, sociologist Jason Arday resigned from his university post last week.

leading to a loss of short-term memory. Despite this, he passed his viva, and went on to teach at various universities, his academic ascent culminating with a professorship at Cambridge.

It is difficult to tell this story without either turning Arday into a fairytale hero or sounding snarky in disbelief. How much of it is true is still an open question. Many aspects of both his academic work and his life story have begun to unravel. Nathan Cofnas, a researcher with, to put it mildly, controversial views about race and intelligence, published last month details of Arday's alleged plagiarism.

Such claims had circulated before. An investigation last year by Liverpool John Moores University, from where Arday had received his doctorate, cleared him, though the findings remain confidential. This time, the story got picked

up by the wider media and many other allegations came tumbling out, including accusations of fraud and of fabricating quotes from participants in research studies. Many parts of his life story began to be challenged, too, such as his claim

For one side he is the face of diversity, for the other a surrender to 'wokeness'

to have run 30 marathons in 35 days to raise charity funds.

The most troubling story comes from Jack Grove, a Times Higher Education journalist who was looking into the plagiarism allegations. Grove was investigated by the Metropolitan police and told not to contact Arday as 'it was affecting his mental health'. It was reported that previously Arday also called on the libel lawyers Carter-

Ruck to help spike an inconvenient article.

Carter-Ruck helps manage public reputations, including by warding off potentially damaging stories. Like many a celebrity, what Arday was trying to protect was his 'brand' from being despoiled.

This seems also to have been the aim of Cambridge and other universities in their refusal to look more closely at Arday's work. Arday was for them emblematic of their apparent success in opening their institution to more marginalised groups while actually doing little. The discussion about his professorial appointment was not, as the Guardian's Jason Okundaye observes, about 'the substance of [his] scholarship' but more a case of 'doesn't this make you feel good'.

Equally shoddy has been the defence of Arday provided by many academics and writers. An open letter from the Good Law Project, signed by prominent public figures, denounced the allegations as 'entirely false', a 'smear campaign' to 'undermine Black people who hold positions of influence'. Black academic Kehinde Andrews suggested that if Arday 'was not black we would not be having this conversation'.

Defenders of Arday have been particularly incensed by the role of Cofnas in the debate. A self-described 'race realist', who believes that black people are less intelligent than whites, Cofnas insists that in a meritocracy 'Blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment' and that

'the number of black professors would approach 0%,' views that got him dismissed from Cambridge.

To accept that Cofnas holds racist views is not an argument against taking the case against Arday seriously. The racism that black students and academics face is not alleviated by dismissing any allegations against black scholars as 'racist smears'. That serves only to give greater legitimacy to figures such as Cofnas.

Arday's defenders are right, though, that it is rare for allegations of academic plagiarism and fraud to receive such intense scrutiny. Three years ago, another Cambridge academic, the historian William O'Reilly, was found guilty of arguably a more serious case of plagiarism when he lifted passages from his students' essays to pass off as his own. It barely made headlines and O'Reilly still teaches at Cambridge.

Arday has become as emblematic for certain sections of the right as he has been for academic institutions and would-be antiracists. For the one, he is the face of diversity, for the other an illustration of the surrender of academia to 'wokeness'. Many such critics dismiss minority academics as 'DEI hires', and rail against 'bogus' disciplines such as sociology.

We cannot challenge such claims if we refuse to acknowledge plagiarism and fraud wherever it is found, even in the work of black scholars. That would be to provide even more ammunition to racists and reactionaries.

The only man in the eating disorder therapy group

My relationship with food was isolating for years – until I sought help. By Dom McGovern

It's November 2021 and I'm logging in to a Zoom meeting with the West London eating disorder service. An NHS-mandated mental health assessment is not the worst thing happening in the world, but to me the phrase 'West London eating disorder service' is about as bleak a combination of words as any other in the English language.

This will turn out to be the first of many encounters with mental health professionals to assess my relationship with my body image, and the harmful ways I'd been trying to 'fix' my body throughout my teens and twenties. Five years

ago, 'men's mental health' was essentially limited to three weeks in November when men in the UK tried and failed to grow a moustache, and then stopped talking about the subject, but the algorithm was beginning to serve us carefully crafted reels from bodybuilders advising us on our protein intake.

I still find it almost embarrassing to say how much my relationship with my body has dominated my thinking as an adult – treating food as an algorithm in itself, an input and an output system rather than something to enjoy for its own sake.

A fear of acknowledging it stopped me seeking help for years. From the age of 15 I lived in a cycle of bargaining, restriction and excess. As a teenager I'd avoid breakfast, make excuses at lunch, and then force my dinner out of my stomach in the evenings. This pattern continued into adulthood

until a conversation with my mother compelled me to seek help.

As with anything in an overstretched and underfunded healthcare system, the gap between assessment and treatment was lengthy. The standard NHS treatment is group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). I didn't know what to expect from a group situation, but when I arrived I didn't expect to be the only man there.

In a sense it could have been predicted. A quarter of people with eating disorders are men, but the misconception that an eating disorder is a 'female' illness stops some men from seeking help. As a gay man, I thought I was exempt from 'men's mental health'. To me the phrase exemplified a need to be codified, and I thought I was more able, as a gay man, to articulate my feelings. But it still took me more than a decade to seek help.

For me and my compatriots in treatment, our body image problems had similar root causes. We had lived through the 2000s, absorbing by osmosis the tabloid version of an ideal body (tiny) and were now living in the post-pandemic protein and Ozempic era. Back to square one, driven by the algorithm into a state of gym psychosis.

I obviously know that, historically, the pressure on women to change their bodies has been more forceful. But in my experience, it can be hard, as a man, to identify the insidious sources of pressure that affect you. You can't always recognise that advice framed as 'lean bulking for the gym' can lead to harmful self-perception if you take it too far. The added complexity of my homosexuality making me both object and objectifier when it came to the male gaze meant I felt as if I were trying to achieve a rigid body

standard for gay men that no one was forcing on me but myself.

I thought that being the only man in the therapy group would isolate me, the origins of my disorder too 'male' to connect with the women, but not masculine enough to count as 'men's mental health'. In reality, everyone was as varied in their life experience as in any group.

It wasn't that we wanted to be thinner – we simply wanted to spend less time thinking about our bodies. In the end, it was a huge comfort to know that no one is thinking about you in the way you think about yourself. In showing up for each other with compassion and understanding, we took steps to do the same for ourselves.

Dom McGovern is a comedian. His Edinburgh Fringe show, Prize Hop, is at the Pleasance Courtyard until 30 August

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29

Firefighters don't have the luxury of debating climate

Those on the frontline know cutting emissions is vital, say Steve Wright and Katie White

Anyone who thinks we still have time to ease ourselves into the realities of climate change should spend a shift with a firefighter.

Over the last few days, crews have battled the wildfire at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk. Firefighters on the frontline describe returning home with blisters covering their feet after crossing burning heathland, while others face the impossible choice between risking heat exhaustion by staying in full protective gear or removing it and exposing themselves to the flames.

Afterwards, one crew manager said what many across the service are feeling: "In previous years, incidents like this would have been unprecedented." Today, they are becoming part of the job.

Fires still account for more than a quarter of incidents, but over the past decade, the role has changed beyond recognition. The uniform that once meant fighting fires increasingly means searching

floodwater, rescuing people from fast-moving rivers and responding to weather emergencies that have become part of everyday frontline life.

Last year, Britain experienced its first recorded "megafire", as flames tore through almost 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of the Scottish Highlands. In recent weeks, firefighters have been forced to climb onto remote moorland in the Cairngorms and above Greater Manchester to contain flames before they spread further, and battle blazes across north and south Wales.

We are not alone. Recent wildfires in south-west France have forced one of the largest displacements of French citizens outside wartime in the country's history. Across the border, more than 200,000 hectares have already burned in Spain, while experts describe Greece's wildfire season as one of its worst on record.

A decade ago, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union and the UK's climate minister might not have found themselves writing together. Today we are, because the world has changed, and meeting that challenge means working together in unprecedented ways.

We can't be clearer: this is not simply a run of bad luck. The Met Office has shown that Britain's 2022 wildfire conditions were made at

least six times more likely because of climate change, while the UK's Climate Change Risk Assessment warns that the number of days with the potential conditions for serious wildfires could double in a world that warms by 2C.

At a time when some of our political parties are still arguing over how ambitious Britain should be on climate change, and some continue to question the science itself, firefighters don't have the luxury of treating this as a debate.

If this is the new climate reality, we have two equally important jobs: reducing the emissions driving it and preparing our country for the impacts we can already see. We cannot do one without the other.

That means approaching our resilience to climate change as a national mission. Every tonne of carbon we avoid reduces the risks future generations will face, while every investment in resilience

helps protect families, businesses and critical infrastructure from the impacts already locked in.

That approach is already delivering results. On flooding, the government is investing more than £10.5bn in defences through to 2036, the largest programme of its kind, helping to protect about 840,000 homes and businesses, while analysis shows every £1 invested in flood resilience can prevent about £8 of economic damage.

The same principle should shape our wider response to climate change. Investing in resilient infrastructure, better forecasting, stronger emergency services and local preparedness is not simply about responding to disasters but reducing their impact and cost before they happen.

Our climate transition is one of Britain's greatest opportunities, requiring the biggest national upgrade in generations. It means electricity superhighways carrying homegrown power from Scotland, billion-pound EV battery plants in Sunderland and solar panels on hospitals, military sites and schools from Moray to Devon, cutting bills and putting more money back where it is needed most.

This will require continued investment, long-term certainty and

partnership between government, industry and the frontline. If we get it right, we'll create skilled jobs, keep more investment at home and leave the next generation a safer, more resilient country.

Building resilience is something we all have a role in. As hotter, drier summers become more common, the choices we make can mean the difference between a close call and a major wildfire. Avoiding disposable barbecues and campfires, disposing of cigarettes safely, never leaving behind glass bottles – which can focus the sun's rays and ignite dry grass – respecting fire warnings and reporting fires early can all help protect our countryside and the firefighters who risk their lives to defend it.

If the job of a firefighter has changed this much in a decade, then the country has already changed too. Our response will continue to evolve with that reality, cutting emissions, strengthening our resilience and ensuring government, emergency services and communities work together to protect the people and places we love.

Steve Wright is general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, and Katie White OBE MP is minister of state, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

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Andy Burnham’s domestic focus risks letting Britain’s EU reset drift away Tom Baldwin

Going quiet on Europe and postponing a trade deal may cost economic growth and scupper the PM’s ‘feelgood’ plans

The most ‘foreign’ aspect of Andy Burnham’s brief time as prime minister so far has probably been the holiday, at an ‘overseas’ location, that he took last week with his wife and children.

Although Downing Street was justifiably keen to protect his privacy and did not give details of his precise whereabouts, the last public sighting of Burnham was last Sunday in Dover, where he made some brief remarks about stopping the arrival of asylum seekers in small boats. It might then be a reasonable guess that he crossed the Channel himself soon afterwards in the opposite direction for a holiday in Europe.

There is a certain sort of bovine politics that always tries to generate resentment about a prime minister taking a few days off during August with their family. And, right on cue, Reform MP Lee Anderson launched an attack on Burnham for having ‘bunked off for a jolly abroad’.

Much more notable, is that this holiday is the first time the new PM has left Britain. He has not yet had face-to-face talks with any EU leader and, according to a spokesperson, none is scheduled. In fairness, he did meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Portsmouth during his first week and had a phone call with Donald Trump among others. But Burnham’s team believe one of the mistakes made by Keir Starmer was to be constantly jetting off for meetings abroad.

Instead, Downing Street’s latest occupant has promised to have a ‘relentless domestic focus’ and one way to measure that is to compare the grid of policy announcements over his first week in charge with what his predecessor had been planning. The new PM unveiled measures for lower electricity bills, caps on bus fares and more help for pubs. Starmer, by contrast, would have been at the big summit with the EU in Brussels, where negotiations were said to be ‘almost complete’ for implementing a deal removing post-Brexit restrictions on the trade of food and drink. Ministers also believed that intensive final talks would secure agreement on a scheme for under-30s across Europe to live and work in each other’s countries, as well as to link emissions-trading systems and take further steps towards aligning the UK with the EU single market.

All of which would have been

Andy Burnham talks to journalists in Dover before his ‘overseas’ break.

Clockwise: EU supporters Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Peter Kyle, Nick Thomas-Symonds and Hilary Benn.

typically dry stuff, lacking the instant feelgood popular appeal of Burnham’s policies. But the decision to postpone the summit, just after Starmer announced his intention to resign as PM last month, has still come at a cost.

No new date has been set and it is now unlikely to happen until after the next Budget on 28 October, when any economic benefits of the EU ‘reset’ cannot be counted in spending plans. The Centre for European Reform (CEE) has estimated the proposed package would grow the size of the UK economy by 0.3% to 0.7%, with a similar increase in Treasury revenues worth perhaps £5bn annually within the next five years. Although such sums may not be much in the grand scale of the government’s £1.4m

spend this year, it could have paid for a lot of capped bus fares and bailed-out pubs.

The bigger question is whether the delay results in a lasting loss of momentum on efforts to lessen the damage of Brexit, which the former chancellor Rachel Reeves said had left Britain’s economy 8% smaller at a cost of £4.3bn every week. In its final months, there had been indications Starmer’s government wanted to make the limited reset deal a ‘proof of concept’ ahead of a much bigger offer in the next Labour manifesto. But Jonathan Reynolds, who has been reinstalled as business secretary, last week distanced himself from the idea by saying the party’s position in its 2024 manifesto – which set ‘red lines’ against a return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement – ‘is absolutely the right one’. There is already some concern that negotiations could go backwards on the youth mobility scheme.

The sense of a retreat into domestic politics was reinforced by his reshuffle

because it would entail subsidising EU students’ tuition fees at British universities and could mean a small increase in net immigration figures.

Although Burnham is generally regarded as instinctively pro-European, he has maintained a low profile on the subject.

Along with other north-west MPs in his cabinet, such as Lucy Powell and Lisa Nandy, he steered clear of Labour’s effort – eventually spearheaded by Starmer – to secure a second referendum in the years 2018–19. Though Burnham once said he would like the UK to rejoin

EU at some point in his lifetime, in the Makerfield byelection he emphasised ‘the last thing we should do right now is rerun those [Brexit] arguments’.

Since then he has made scant reference to the EU except for a few lines in an article for the Times that stated a desire to ‘consolidate the progress made’ in negotiations, particularly on issues such as defence, AI, ‘building resilience to external threats’ and illegal immigration.

In Dover, Burnham spoke briefly about the tens of thousands of migrants who last week swam from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta and said there was a ‘broader issue about the Schengen area’, which allows people to move between EU states without passport controls. One Whitehall source has suggested the PM is more interested in ways the EU can help ‘improve Britain’s security, in the broadest sense of the word’ than in seeking fresh economic opportunities.

The sense of a retreat into domestic politics was reinforced by his cabinet reshuffle when pro-Europeans expressed dismay at the sacking of a clutch of ministers – including Reeves, Peter Kyle, Hilary Benn, David Lammy and Nick Thomas-Symonds – who had been among the keenest on getting closer to the EU. Nor is there complete clarity about who is now in charge of relations with Europe.

Negotiations on the reset deal are still based in the Cabinet Office, where much is being made of the fact that Thomas-Symonds’s replacement, Hamish Falconer, had previously had a career as a diplomat. But Falconer has also been made Europe minister at the Foreign

Office, which is known to be seeking to take back control of relations with the EU and where its new boss, Ed Miliband, makes a point of saying he is a ‘politician, not a diplomat’. The foreign secretary has told colleagues he wants an ‘ambitious approach’ that goes beyond the existing ‘incrementalist’ process and has been characteristically fast out of the traps.

He had an early meeting with his EU counterpart, Kaja Kallas, before flying off for more talks in the capitals of France and Spain about how to strengthen relations. ‘I will drive this agenda into the heart of our foreign policy,’ he said.

Elsewhere in the government, however, Miliband’s influence is said to be ‘overstated’, and a much bleaker note is sounded about future prospects. These include the threat to British industry posed by the EU’s new ‘made in Europe’ rules, as well as frustration over being blocked from competing for its defence contracts. ‘We’re stuck in the tariff crossfire and facing a global wave of protectionism,’ one source said. ‘What matters now is survival.’

There are signs that unpicking the existing Brexit deal is also becoming a lower priority for Brussels, where the replacement of Starmer with Burnham has reinforced doubt that the British government can be a stable partner with which to make a deal. A weary European Commission official described the arrival in No 10 of yet another prime minister as a routine event, ‘sort of in the category of bears shifting in the woods’, at a time when ‘we have other things to worry about’.

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Letters

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

31

Better palliative care should come before assisted dying

I was glad to hear the new prime minister state last week that before there's a wider debate on the principle of assisted dying, 'there's something that needs to happen first and that's the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care'.

This was the core point of many of the amendments tabled to the flawed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when it arrived in the House of Lords.

Consequently, I also hope that Andy Burnham's comments might finally counter the ubiquitous misinformation posited by the bill's supporters – most recently in a letter here from my noble colleague Lord Dubs ('Dirty tricks scuppered the assisted dying bill. It must not happen again', Letters, 19 July) – disparaging those Lords' amendments as a cynical, filibustering 'dirty tricks' exercise.

I have many criticisms of the second chamber, but in this instance it rose to the challenge of effectively scrutinising a private member's bill that was simply not fit for purpose. Poor drafting, its status as a Trojan horse for a wide range of unintended consequences, a lack of clarity about what would constitute terminal illness, and its indifference to discussing the need to prioritise improved investment and support for palliative and hospice care rather than assisted suicide – all these led to an eclectic and impressive group of peers across all parties and none rightly tabling amendments attempting to probe, improve, and add adequate safeguards. Our aim was to ensure that, if the law did pass, it would not become a threat to our fellow citizens when they were most vulnerable, or undermine the ethos of the NHS and suicide prevention per se.

Lord Dubs went on to stress that he supports changing the law as a humanist. I, too, am a humanist. My qualms about the bill are driven by a very secular commitment to a humane approach to people who are dying, that is to ensure each and every human being knows that as they approach their end of life, society rallies around them, offers support and encouragement, provides the best possible medication and care, and does its utmost to alleviate suffering. It is hard to comprehend how anyone might consider that the state-sanctioned provision by doctors of lethal doses of drugs to assist a patient to end their life is an act of humanist compassion.

If many Labour MPs and peers were swayed by the former prime minister's support for changing the law, here's hoping his successor's more nuanced approach will give them pause. Rather than backing Labour backbencher Lauren Edwards's attempt to reintroduce the bill, we should use our energies more productively to fix social care and make end-of-life care as humane and comfortable as possible.

Baroness Fox House of Lords, SW1

Pioneer's vision for social care is realised

Social care is a rising issue across the UK, as it is across the world. Today, the use of an artificial companion providing 'company and medical assistance to residents in care homes' in the UK ('It's like a companion. A revolution in social care led by an army of nanaodids', News, last week) may not sound surprising. However, the pioneers of such applications had been thinking about them for decades, none more so than Prof Yorick Wilks. It is wonderful that artificial companions are finally being used in the ways that he and his fellow pioneers imagined and prototyped.

Yorick was a computer

scientist who worked primarily in computational linguistics, focusing on human and computer cognition. His work evolved into the development of artificial companions that could help people in social care or living at home with a variety of tasks. Now, such a companion can help older people remember their medication, answer questions, hold a conversation and reduce loneliness.

It's true that questions remain about entrusting care to a robot-like companion. Is it cruel? Or is it not as good as having a human carer? As Yorick often reminded people, it could be better than having no companion, and it could augment whatever human care is available.

There are now debates about

whether people should use AI chatbots for conversation, as some enjoy this and even prefer interacting with an artificial agent rather than some of the people they might speak to. The technology is already here.

I helped bring Yorick to the Oxford Internet Institute in the early 2000s, where he spent the final years of his career. He was a great colleague who won an array of awards and received wide recognition for his work. He died in 2023 at the age of 83. It is a fitting tribute that the companions Yorick imagined are now, finally, keeping people company.

Bill Dutton Oxford

Great underestimations

As someone who has lived in Great Yarmouth for most of my life, I was interested to read Miles Ellingham's take on my home town ('Postcard from the edge of politics', New Review, last week) and our local MP and his influence.

Politically, Rupert Lowe and I are poles apart, but I respect that he gives his MP's salary to local good causes. As for Ellingham's appraisal of Great Yarmouth, I found it heavy on negative statistics, which is probably indicative of many seaside towns. But with this summer's rolling heatwave, our main road to the seafarm will be heaving with visitors.

Of course, there are problems, but the council has proactively enabled many aspirational projects. We now have a state-of-the-art library and university hub in the town centre. There is a thriving theatre converted from a historically significant church, a first-class museum, and many more cultural attributes.

I like our diversity, reflected by the inclusive congregation at my local Catholic church, with its community of people from many different countries. Often it seems my town is portrayed negatively and, indeed, inaccurately. I would rather quote Peggotty from David Copperfield: 'Yarmouth was, upon the whole, the finest place in the universe.'

Judith A Daniels Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Sport, not spectacle

Your editorial ('The Observer View: The bountiful game', last week) prompted me to reflect on the contrast between the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

I'm surprised at the furore over Gianni Infantino's plans for the future of the competition. Didn't anyone see it coming, given the constant expansion in the number of nations involved? The obsession with financial rewards to Fifa as a measure of a successful tournament, the blatant changing of the basic structure of the game, hydration breaks, and the brazen extension of half-time to include a concert all reflected a tournament driven by spectacle. Yet the world still talked about it as if it had been a wonderful tournament because lots of people attended.

The Commonwealth Games, on

the other hand, have been reduced dramatically and largely ignored by the media. Many of the highest-paid athletes have also chosen not to compete. Yet which event better reflects the purest sporting ethos?

Trevor Hopper Lewes, East Sussex

Astronomical waste

Sarah Perry is right that money should be found to keep up Britain's world leadership in astronomy instead of wasting it on white elephants ('Earth to Whitehall: awe and knowledge are beyond all price', News, last week). Money has been available to keep HS2 going but also to fund its cost overruns, while universities are withering, having needlessly lost vast earning potential from overseas students who want to study in English but cannot or will not do so in Trumpland.

When ignoramuses took over the Athenian democracy, they began by banning astronomy, because early

astronomers proved that the sun and moon were physical objects rather than gods; they ended up by executing Socrates. Plato took revenge by turning Athens into a centre for education. Britain would do better to fund science and knowledge rather than zombie projects like HS2.

Prof Richard Janko University of Michigan, USA

North Sea round-trip

It's hardly surprising that companies are investing elsewhere ('BP puts North Sea business on block in blow to Burnham's plans', Business, last week). Ed Miliband enforced a strict ban on North Sea exploration licences to look for new oil and gas fields, while Rachel Reeves proposed heavy taxes. We still need oil and gas, so where will we get it? Norway. Where does Norway get its oil and gas? The North Sea.

Nick Harper Plymouth

SAF

For the record

● We got our Oxbridge colleges mixed up last week, illustrating an interview with the president of St John's College, Oxford, with a drawing showing the location of St John's College, Cambridge (News, page 18). The illustration has now been amended, and can be seen in the online version of our article at: tinyurl.com/436tra97

● A news item on the Business pages ('Boom in bomb-making benefits UK factories', 2 August, page 38) described Rolls-Royce as a 'car manufacturer'. To clarify, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, maker of the luxury vehicles, is now wholly owned by BMW. Our article concerned Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, a separate company, which builds aircraft engines and power systems.

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Kemi Badenoch says she’s against antisemitism. Her actions suggest otherwise Kate Maltby

Three months ago Kemi Badenoch stood outside Downing Street and gave one of the best speeches of her career. It was not a high-profile speech. Those of us who stood among the few thousand listeners at a Whitehall rally did so because we felt isolated amid a culture of rising antisemitism, crystallised by the targeted stabbing a fortnight earlier of two Jewish men in Golders Green.

Badenoch spoke to those fears clearly, without the equivocation that has marked other political responses. She had grown up, she told us, with the threat of Islamist violence in Nigeria. Between the handwringing of Labour and the crocodile tears of Reform, here was a politician who got it.

Nevertheless, she spoke only about the antisemitism of Islamic extremism and of the left. To understand the impact that far-right hatred still has on Britain’s Jews, she needed only to read the sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Spencer after the latest trial of Joshua Bonehill-Paine, at the time an avowed neo-Nazi.

While on trial in 2016 for the racially aggravated harassment of the Labour peer Luciana Berger, Bonehill-Paine was so lacking in contrition that he performed a Nazi salute from the dock. In a campaign he called “Operation Filthy Jew Bitch”, Bonehill-Paine targeted Berger with images that depicted her in sexual relationships with non-Jewish politicians, supposedly to further the “Jewification of Great

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, convicted in 2016 of racially aggravated harassment, but endorsed by the Tory leader as a possible councillor.

Britain” (far-right racism never falls far from misogyny). When Berger gave evidence, six months pregnant, Spencer wrote: “You plainly enjoyed her discomfort.” Bonehill-Paine was already serving a three-year sentence for inciting racial hatred against Jews. Spencer sentenced him to an additional two years for racially aggravated harassment, to be served consecutively.

As for the higher threshold ... she was pinning a blue rosette on an ex neo-Nazi

Last Monday Badenoch’s Conservative party unveiled Bonehill-Paine as one of its candidates for the council elections in Somerset. It began an extraordinary week, in which the Conservative leader pinned her reputation to Bonehill-Paine’s candidacy, repeatedly endorsing him even after he was eventually forced to withdraw. To those

of us who cheered Badenoch’s antisemitism speech in May, the past week of contortions marked a profound betrayal.

Back then, she quoted the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: “Antisemitism is the best early warning signal against threats to humanity – threats to freedom, threats to the dignity of difference.” Even as she said these words, she was courting Bonehill-Paine, believing that his popular Creuberne Gazette, a website that releases viral AI videos mocking Labour, was a platform the Tory party desperately needed onside. This is a man whose threats to the “dignity of difference” involved superimposing Berger’s face on to the body of a rat, and accusing her of being in league with non-white politicians in a “battle between good and evil, white and anti-white”.

Badenoch’s position is that Bonehill-Paine has been rehabilitated. He backed that up with an article last Wednesday

for ConservativeHome, affirming that he now works with counter-radicalisation groups “to explain how grievance, isolation and conspiracy theories can gradually pull someone into an extremist worldview”. Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but pin the firmest attack on Karl Marx, who he claims “associated Jewishness with money, commerce and selfish materialism”. It’s a funny type of advocate for Jewish dignity who can name only one historical figure worthy of blame for antisemitism – and picks a man of wholly Jewish descent.

Access to rehabilitation is a part of any healthy society. Those close to Bonehill-Paine insist that he has been influenced by Christianity, having discovered the Bible while in prison. This would be more persuasive if he hadn’t already claimed to be a Christian while a neo-Nazi, drawing on old tropes to accuse Berger and the Jewish people of hereditary responsibility for the death of Christ.

The politician usually referenced as an example of successful rehabilitation in British life is John Profumo, who spent 40 years working with charity groups to atone for sharing a lover with a Soviet attaché. But Profumo never again sought to obtain public office, and never gave an interview to promote his new image. It was 35 years before the Tory party formally marked his absolution, inviting him to sit with the Queen at Margaret Thatcher’s 70th birthday dinner.

Unlike her hero Thatcher, Badenoch has rushed to rehabilitate a hatemonger. Most councillor

selections are not a matter for party leaders, but I understand that Badenoch took an active role in Bonehill-Paine’s candidacy, personally defending it to other decision-makers. By contrast, her office has done nothing to support Berger, not even contacting her to warn her.

As the scandal played out last week, Badenoch oscillated between praising Bonehill-Paine’s expertise as essential in “the fight against antisemitism” and dismissing his prospective role as “a local platform looking at parking, sorting out bins”, adding: “I have much higher thresholds for what it takes to be a Conservative MP.” In doing so, she offended many of her own councillors. As for that “higher threshold”: Badenoch recently inflamed factional wounds by banning “wet” candidates from parliamentary selection. Councillor or MP, she was now pinning a blue rosette on a former neo-Nazi.

The story highlights something familiar about Badenoch: she is constitutionally incapable of accepting when she has made a mistake. This is a flaw in any leader and dangerous in a future prime minister.

When Bonehill-Paine withdrew his candidacy last Wednesday, Badenoch not only expressed sadness at his decision but made a point of appointing him an adviser to the party’s culture and integration commission. Time will tell whether this is the right role for him. Meanwhile, Britain’s Jews have learned once again: politicians are fickle allies in the battle against hate.

Notebook

Transcendence is possible even in the middle of the city – and I know where Lily Isaacs

Much of my teenage personality was shaped by the things I read in Dolly Alderton’s 2018 memoir, Everything I Know About Love, so I worried when my daily commute started feeling like it was pulling me towards what she described as her existential breakdown, realising that “life is really just waiting for buses on Tottenham Court Road”. Luckily for me, Tottenham Court Road in London would offer a salve. Last week, I scurried past those bus stops and into Soho Place to see Phelim McDermott’s new show Tao of Glass – billed as a philosophical love letter to the composer Philip Glass, but which is in fact a mind-bending lesson in living through art.

McDermott had brilliantly directed Glass’s operas – Satyagraha, Akhnaten and The Perfect American – but when the actor-director pitched the idea of creating a new performance together, he didn’t know what the esteemed American composer would think. But Glass, now 89, was game, trekking to a studio in New York’s East Village and matching some of McDermott’s more eccentric requests. “I want to sink so deep into a coma it feels like I’m dying,” McDermott says at one point in the show. Glass says he’ll join him there: his piano playing feels like a hypnosis, lulling us into a meditation.

McDermott walked us through the I Ching, the book of Tao, and the three tiers of consciousness, the deepest of which he reaches with a little help from a flotation tank. My lovely former flatmate spent lots of time in flotation tanks, and every time he returned he radiated an aura of utter calm. I never dared admit to him that my mum used to work at one in the 1990s – and she never changed the water. Not once. They used to just skim off whatever grim remnants of each floater was left. Your consciousness may be altered, but you’ve been warned.

A scene from the Tao of Glass.

I left wondering which artist my Tao would be: who would I look to in order to learn how to live? I didn’t need to go any further than my kitchen to realise it would be that other great Dolly: Madame Parton. A friend had recently returned from the USA and brought me a present: Dolly Parton’s Banana Nut Muffin mix, which I have been eating almost ritualistically every day. Glass may be a musical genius, but these muffins are proof that Parton’s life-enhancing oeuvre stretches well beyond singing. Her culinary skills are not to be underestimated. Ominously,

the nutrition label promises to provide you with 450% of your recommended daily sugar intake, but it’s worth every bite. Her newest cookbook, Good Lookin’ Cookie, has some truly brilliant stuff: Dirt Road Martinis, Light My Fire Bananas Foster, a Slaw of Many Colours. There’s really nothing she can’t do.

Wednesday will see the most spectacular solar eclipse in a generation, and I have eclipse fever. After spending a week thinking about Taoism and transcendence, I have found my own spiritual practice: frantically refreshing cloud forecasts. I am scouting sites, ordering eclipse glasses and contemplating where I might be watching it, if I’m so lucky, in 2090 when the next one in the UK comes around. If Dolly Parton can be still fabulously touring the world and baking at 80, then I’d better keep eating my muffins...

Tao of Glass is at Soho Place Theatre, London, until 12 September

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Jodrell Bank isn't a museum, it's a place where science happens every day Teresa Anderson

A threat to funding at the observatory has caused a public outcry and reinforced the site's image as the spiritual home of astronomy

Two weeks ago, things became fraught here at Jodrell Bank. The looming funding cut is a threat to jobs and livelihoods, and news of it dealt a blow to our hearts. The funding body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said it had to focus investment on projects that deliver 'the greatest long-term impact'. This means that all scientific observations at Jodrell Bank will cease on 1 April 2028 unless alternative funding can be found.

While we were reeling here, the outcry beyond the observatory was loud; petitions, media pieces and an open letter, signed by a seemingly eclectic group of luminaries, for the funding cut to be reversed. For those of us who work here at Jodrell Bank, in Manchester University – which owns the site, and more widely, that response has been humbling, moving (there have been tears), cheering and galvanising. We are immensely grateful.

However, in a strange way, we're not surprised. We know that we are connected together by this place, through generations. As the musician and author John Robb said recently on Radio 5 Live: 'It's ours.'

In 2006, when I first started my new job – creating the new visitor centre at Jodrell Bank – facilities for guests were virtually nonexistent. There was no schools programme and, apart from the magnificent Lovell radio telescope itself, little to see or do. There was no money and no plan, so it was difficult to know where to start – I'm just a physicist. So I began by talking to people.

Or rather, I began by listening to people as they talked about Jodrell Bank. I travelled to visit scientists, engineers, heads of labs and

research funders; technologists, regeneration leaders, councillors and politicians of all flavours; broadcasters, writers, musicians, teachers, families. And, of course, I listened to visitors who sit on the benches here, watching the Lovell telescope slowly tracking objects far away in space, as if they are sitting on the shores of the universe, looking out across the vast seas of the cosmos.

And everyone talked and talked. About what it meant to them, how they'd visited as a child, brought their grandchildren, seen it on TV, been on a school trip, been inspired to study science. How they'd come as a student and never left, or left and returned to lead a research group, a homecoming. How one grandparent had worked in the place that provided steel for the telescope; how another relative had driven the lorry that brought the antenna.

How seeing it from a train or a plane meant they were home. How they looked out for it when they were out hiking along the spine of the Pennines. There were stories of telescope nights, gatherings to watch moon landings. There were lit-up faces, warm memories, links across generations. I saw an overwhelming, glowing picture of pride in a place that means so much to so many. As our northern friends the band Doves say: 'It's our spiritual home.'

And although I work for Manchester University, after all those conversations it became clear to me that, here at Jodrell Bank, we work for everyone else as well.

Bernard Lovell, pictured in 1955, led the team that founded Jodrell Bank.

Members of the northern indie band Doves say they have a 'spiritual' connection with the observatory. Gary Cotton

Over the years since then, the 'Jodrellites' (as Elbow once called them during a concert here swamped by torrential rain) have defined how Jodrell Bank has grown. Our sense of joint ownership of this place has shaped the creation of new, award-winning buildings, music events, broadcasts, the audacity of the Bluedot festival, writing, a fernery, art interventions, a community quilt, spectacular architecture and so much more.

Our Unesco world heritage site nomination was built upon story (after story) from scientists, engineers, visitors and workers from the early days. Memories of former school visits guided the creation of a completely new education programme, which is now world-leading and welcomes more than 25,000 pupils each year.

The writer and broadcaster Paul Morley said of the telescope: 'It's a work of art as well as a place of science.' The science. Day after day, the science – which underpins everything, which is the beating heart of the site – runs as a thread through everything. This place isn't

a museum. It's a place where science happens, where radio waves that began their journey billions of years ago have travelled at the speed of light across the vastness of space to arrive at the Lovell telescope at the same time as the people who visit it. Visitors recognise that authenticity. The connection to this place through time, across generations, sits squarely on the science.

I saw a glowing picture of pride in a place that means so much to so many

I carry with me a story I was told, some years ago, by an elderly man; the story of how, as a boy, he went on a school trip to a university to watch a public lecture by a research scientist. The talk was about 'the electric spark', and the speaker demonstrated his points by doing science as he spoke, making sparks leap across the audience.

The man, then in his 90s, clearly recalled the sounds and the excitement of an event almost 80 years ago and said: 'It was that one

night turned me into a scientist.' Of course, that man was Bernard Lovell, the founder of Jodrell Bank and the person who began all the science here, building the famous telescopes that mark our landscape today. One inspiring moment in his early teens has resulted in the huge number of Jodrell Bank scientists now working across the world, and even the international Square Kilometre Array project – a vast network of radio telescopes – that calls Jodrell Bank its home.

Following Lovell's spirit, Jodrell Bank has been passing on that spark of inspiration to the new generation of scientists and engineers ever since; who knows how they will realise their potential and what they will create.

Thank you to everyone who is part of the Jodrell Bank community. For you and with your help, we will keep those sparks of inspiration flying.

Prof Teresa Anderson founded, and was the first director of, the Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement, Manchester University

Archive

The Observer,

27. 10. 1957

Sputnik's batteries run out

By John Davy Science Correspondent

The Russian satellite, which has circled the Earth 300 times since its launch on October 4, has gone off the air. Moscow Radio announced that its transmitter had ceased working, having exhausted its power supply. The radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, detected the satellite's rocket just after 10 last night as it was passing over the Arctic. Professor

Lovell, who has charge of the telescope, said it was now 80 minutes ahead of the satellite. This is rather more than was stated in the most recent Tass Agency predictions of the rocket's course, which may mean that the rocket is now beginning to come down fast.

Professor Lovell last night cabled the results of his observations to the Moscow Astronomical Council, which

earlier yesterday had sent him a telegram giving the rocket's expected position and asking him to track it. It looks as though the Russian scientists are anxious to have the accurate observations from the Jodrell Bank telescope, as it is probably the only instrument in the world capable of making such measurements. It is likely that the Russians can track the rocket only

visually with ordinary telescopes for short periods as it passes over Russia. The Jodrell observations make it much easier to follow in detail the last few hours of the rocket's life. Professor Lovell told me he had expected the rocket to come down last week. The fact that it was still up indicated that the Earth's atmosphere 100 miles up must be thinner than scientists had expected.

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34 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Forum

Obituary

Olga Soffer

Fashion executive turned anthropologist who unearthed the true roles played by Paleolithic women

One of Alex Beattie's earliest memories, aged three or four, is of accompanying her mother, the archaeologist Olga Soffer, on a dig in France. Later, as a teenager struggling to describe her mother's profession to friends, Beattie recalled, 'the Indiana Jones movies came out, and I could say, 'Yes, that's what my mom does'.

Soffer, who has died aged 83, made history through her research. Her discoveries revealed not only what ice age people wore but how they lived and the important, previously obscured roles of women.

In the late 1990s, examining clay fragments from Upper Paleolithic sites in Moravia and Russia with her friend and collaborator James Adovasio, Soffer discovered the impressions of woven textiles pressed into clay more than 27,000 years ago.

'The find pushed back the known history of textile production by thousands of years and upended the standard reconstruction of ice age life, in which men were imagined hunting mammoths while women waited behind,' the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign noted in its obituary of Soffer, who was a professor of anthropology there from 1985 until retiring in 2008.

Soffer and her colleagues' research revealed that it was 'far more likely that men, women, children and elders all contributed to the work of communal life, tossing immense nets, probably woven by women', in order to

Olga Soffer: 'You don't quibble with someone who works in sites with 1,000 dead mammoths.'

capture food prey. 'If the public should understand one thing about prehistory,' Soffer said, 'it is that the past was peopled not only by prehistoric men but also by prehistoric women.'

Soffer, Adovasio and their colleague David Hyland observed that many of the Venus figurines – female statuettes long read as fertility symbols – were wearing hats, snoods, sashes and belts.

The trio concluded that men, women, children and elders all contributed to communal life in Paleolithic society.

Their findings were published in a 2000 paper, The 'Venus' Figurines: Textiles, Busketry, Gender, and Status

in the Upper Paleolithic – which attracted media attention – and in Soffer's 2007 book The Invisible Sex, co-authored with Adovasio and Jake Page.

Beattie said her mother was dismissive of fame: 'She was driven by an insatiable passion for learning and discovery. She found fulfilment in walking her career path and supporting others.'

Soffer was born Olga Aleksandrovna Shabunin on 9 September 1942, in Belgrade, which at the time was the capital of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. The only child of Alexander Shabunin, a Russian-born businessman, and Galina (Girs) Shabunin, she and her

parents were sent to a labour camp.

Soffer later recalled that she was said to have looked like the daughter of the camp commander and he would sometimes take her to the officers' mess to give her extra food. 'Imagine how terrified my grandparents were,' Beattie said. 'They had no choice but to let him take her. But they were happy she was getting food and warmth.'

In 1955, Soffer and her parents

It used to be imagined that men hunted mammoths while women waited behind

immigrated to the US, where, having settled in Brooklyn, her father assembled window blinds and her mother was a seamstress.

Beattie said: 'My mother learned English from Latin and spoke Russian, Ukrainian, Yugoslavian, Italian and a little French.'

After earning a degree in political science at Hunter College in New York, Soffer became a special events coordinator for the department store Abraham & Straus. There she met her lifelong friend, the Hollywood agent Marcia Hurwitz. 'I was 10 years Olga's junior,' Hurwitz said. 'I once asked why she had mentored me. 'I knew you wanted more,' she said. We both came from not much and made successes of ourselves.'

Bored with work, Soffer went back to Hunter in her 30s. Art history led to an interest in paleoanthropology and ethnography. She received a master's degree in anthropology in

1975, then taught at Hunter, Lehman College and the University of Illinois, where, after retiring, Soffer became professor emerita.

'She came from nothing yet made this amazing life,' Beattie said.

'Olga was very humble,' Hurwitz recalled. 'An immigrant's humility: she didn't like to draw attention to herself. I was awestruck by her traipsing around the world, collecting woolly mammoths. She never talked about it, but she was very proud of her work. She knew if she'd been a man she would've got more attention. She was a woman in a man's world in a different time.'

Beattie added: 'I never heard my mom describe herself as a feminist. Being in a male-dominated field was her normal. She said, 'You don't quibble with someone who works in sites with 1,000 dead mammoths.'

Soffer married twice, first in 1962 to Beattie's father, Mark Soffer, a teacher. Her second marriage in 1979 to the poet Dmitry Bobyshev ended in 1991. Soffer doted on her family (including Beattie's children, Mena, 20, and Jake, 17) and friends, cooking Sunday suppers and special meals on Christmas Eve – always boeuf bourguignon and potatoes fried in duck fat – and Russian Christmas.

'Nobody knew a cooler new play, gallery opening or restaurant before my mom did,' said Beattie. 'She was living her life to the last moment.'

Tim Teeman

Olga Soffer, anthropologist, born on 9 September 1942, died on 20 June 2026, aged 83

My week

Tropical two-wing flyingfish

Have you ever, in times of trouble, distress, panic or threat, wished you could vanish into another world, one where the people bothering you could never join you in a million years? It's what I do on a daily basis.

Monday

Take today. It was marlin this time, but that doesn't really matter. It could be swordfish or tuna or those bloody dolphins who think they're so smart: they all chase us with a view to dinner. Now, I'm pretty fast but marlins are a shade faster, especially when hungry. There was a particularly persistent fellow just a few feet behind me. He thought he'd got me, but in a couple of flicks of my tail, I was in that other world.

Tuesday

I left the water and became part of the air: the world of sunlight where it's hard to breathe but wonderfully easy to travel. I spread my wings and I flew. Not blindly like an arrow, but like the sentient being I am, exploiting the winds as they bounced off the waves and staying aloft: 20 seconds, 30 seconds, longer; 200 yards, 300 yards, further. Where's your breakfast now, pointy-face! French humans call us exocets: and who could blame them?

Wednesday

Don't give me any nonsense about it not being true flight. It's not powered flight, but it's a method of travelling through the air by way of a pair of wings, so

don't quibble. And then I'm back in the blue again, back in the warm water, never too far below those waves, supping and nibbling on odds and ends of plankton, forever ready to fly again should the need arise.

Thursday

We fliers never go too deep, because there's no point and no light and no food and no company. Many sea creatures are trapped between the surface and cold darkness of the depths, but we can leave any time we want to. We are the fishes of the light.

Don't give me any nonsense about it not being true flight

Friday

I know what you're thinking: what happens when you drop back into the water and there's another marlin waiting? Simple: I fly again. Instead of plunging in heaffirst I drop my neat asymmetric tail – lower lobe much bigger – into the water and taxi along the surface for a few wriggles until I've got enough speed to fly again. I did that today, but my neighbour in the shoal rather misjudged things. He got caught in an updraught as he took off, failed to adjust in time and found himself soaring far higher than he intended. He escaped the tuna and flew straight between the mandibles of a frigate bird. So it goes.

Saturday

I'm starting to look at female fliers in a new and increasingly urgent way. There's something about the thought of eggs that affects me profoundly: they're simply not complete without a contribution from me. It'll soon be time for action. If I can keep clear of bad fish and worse birds for a while longer I'll be an ancestor. Like entering another world.

Tropical two-wing flyingfish CV

Lifespan maybe five years Eating habits bits and bobs Hobbies aerodynamics Sexual preferences a piscine aviatrix

As told to Simon Barnes

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

35

Profile

Ariana Grande

The star is giving herself a break after her London concert, and not before time, Barbara Ellen writes

It was the week Ariana Grande morphed from a pop star into a global conversation: about body image, nuance and public accountability.

On 31 July, Grande released Petal, the second single from her eighth studio album, also named Petal, issued the same day.

In the accompanying video, she wields a chainsaw to bloodily slaughter casting executives criticising her ("No sex appeal", "Couldn't hurt to lose a few lbs"), but the video reactivated real-world alarm about her thinness.

In a since-deleted Instagram post about Petal, the actor Jameela Jamil, who has previously spoken out about her own battle with anorexia, felt that Grande was "possibly dying right in front of us", saying it was "deeply irresponsible for all the people involved to deliver this aesthetic as glamorous".

After the furore, Grande's team announced she would be taking a break after her Eternal Sunshine global stadium tour (ending on 1 Sept in London), due to "endless, ongoing public scrutiny".

Grande later told her tour audience at Chicago's United Center that the break was not a reaction to the criticism but rather already planned: "Boundaries can need to be set. Human beings can need a break sometimes," she said.

Could it be that simple: that Grande just needs a break? It is certainly possible that the quintessential showbiz hybrid of show pony/workhorse is finally feeling her gruelling work schedule of touring, promoting, recording, filming and merchandising.

Blessed with a four-octave vocal range (falling in the hallowed Mariah-Whitney zone), Grande, 33, has established herself as a bona fide phenomenon. She has surpassed 100m equivalent album sales, which include Dangerous Woman (2016), Thank U, Next (2019) and Eternal Sunshine (2024). Her LGBTQ+ advocacy (her brother

Frankie is gay) led to Billboard calling her the gay icon of her generation in 2017. She was named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People" in 2016 and 2019.

Caroline Sullivan, author of the Sunday Times bestseller Taylor Swift: Era By Era – The Unauthorized Biography and the upcoming Harry Styles: The Stories Behind the Songs, interviewed Grande in 2013. Sullivan tells me she was struck by the pop star's sweetness and vulnerability, as she hung out with then-boyfriend Nathan Sykes from the Wanted: "She clambered on to his lap. I don't know if she's tactile or anything... but [in that moment] she wanted her boyfriend."

Artistically, Sullivan views Grande as a powerhouse in the classic chanteuse mould: "Ariana combines possibly the best voice of her pop generation with vulnerability. A plucky figure fighting against tragedy and heartbreak, with this redemptive, stunning voice."

Paula Harper, assistant professor in the department of music at the University of Chicago, culturally places Grande, alongside artists such

Grande is 'a plucky figure fighting against heartbreak and tragedy with this stunning voice'

as Swift and Katy Perry, as part of "a contemporary pantheon of female pop stars that have emerged alongside digital culture and social media", which "tracks with many of us also learning to perform our own lives and evolutions in public". This appears to offer, says Harper, "not just the buzzword 'parasociality', but actual potential sociality: that she might actually communicate with her fans... this real sense of close connectivity".

Grande was born in 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida. Her mother ran a marine communications equipment company and her father owned a graphic design firm, but they separated before she was nine years old. Finding fame young, acting on the Nickelodeon show Victorious (2010-13) and its spin-off Sam & Cat (2013-14), Grande went on to notch up Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of the good witch, Glinda, in 2024's Wicked. It was during this period

Ariana Grande Born 1993, Boca Raton, Florida Early career Child star on Nickelodeon shows Work Singer Relationship Reported to be back with ex, Ricky Alvarez

general advice is not to comment on people's bodies." Levinson frames it as a wider societal issue, in which celebrity influence is not the only factor: "We know from research that weight stigma from being bullied for being in a larger body, or even just anticipating someone will treat you poorly, is associated with more disordered eating." In Levinson's view: "We are surrounded by messages that implicitly say: 'It is better to be thin at all costs.' And in the case of celebrities, they are not immune to this pressure either."

Grande has suffered major stressful events. In 2017, her concert was the target of the Manchester Arena bombing by an Islamic extremist, causing 22 deaths and injuring hundreds more. Grande led the subsequent benefit concert, One Love Manchester, featuring artists such as Liam Gallagher and Miley Cyrus. Sullivan believes that "Manchester – the profound stress of it – was a pivotal moment in her life", and it was reported that Grande suffered from anxiety and PTSD. The 2024 docuseries Quiet On Set: The

YOU BLOOM FOR YOU ARE PLAYED

Dark Side of Kids TV highlighted sexual abuse at Nickelodeon (by dialogue coach and actor Brian Peck), as well as a general toxic culture. Grande, though not affected, said she found survivor testimonies "devastating".

In her personal life, her former boyfriend and friend, the rapper Mac Miller, died accidentally from a drug overdose in 2018. Her three-year marriage to Dalton Gomez finished, as did her relationship with married Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. Grande is now reported to be back with her ex, dancer Ricky Alvarez.

In November, she will star in the film Focker-In-Law with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. But, beyond that she will step back from the stardust-coated grindstone.

Harper observes that bigger stars can use their power to pull back, not engage as much, and that this too can be inspirational: "We're surrounded by models of work and imperatives to work all the time. There should be more people loudly not working."

Will Grande turn out to have serious disorders, burnout, or a combination of both of them? And where does public scrutiny factor in? What, after all, does it say about modern society when our pop stars start reaching for the chainsaw?

Illustration by Andy Bunday

that her physique turned into a "thinspiration" talking point. Grande has addressed the negative attention before, in interviews and songs. (2024's Yes, And! snarls "Don't comment on my body".) And indeed, many find it reductive and harmful to pass comment on another woman's body. Jordan Levinson, a researcher at the University of Vermont specialising in weight stigma and disordered eating, views the topic as nuanced: "My

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Business

Economics, work and money

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

37

At elevates the extraordinary. To do extraordinary creative work, you need humans

→ Cindy Rose, page 39

Gemini, how do we reverse the DeepMind brain drain?

A turbulent week at Google marked by boss Demis Hassabis stepping back and the exit of four top scientists has exposed the sector's fierce battle for AI talent. Barney Macintyre reports

On a quiet Saturday earlier this summer, several of Google's brightest brains in artificial intelligence made their way to an office in Mountain View, California, armed with a pitch deck for a secret meeting with a prominent venture capitalist.

Leading them was Jeff Dean, chief scientist at Google's AI lab DeepMind, who joined the big tech company as employee No 30 in 1999. For weeks he'd been having hushed discussions with his collaborators – Sanjay Ghemawat, a senior fellow at Google, Oriol Vinyals, technical lead for Google's AI model Gemini, and Quoc Le, co-founder of Google Brain.

Last Wednesday the quartet, who between them served more than 80 years at Google, announced their departure to found Discovery Loop, a startup that aims to automate the scientific method to accelerate such things as drug discovery and chip design. At the same time Demis Hassabis, the former child chess prodigy, Nobel prize winner and chief executive of DeepMind, said he would be stepping back to a role as chair. The share price of Google's parent company, Alphabet, fell 5%.

Deepmind was already trying to stem an exodus of elite AI talent. According to Zeki Data, a firm that tracks global flows of AI engineering and research talent, 74 researchers have left Google DeepMind so far this year, a rate of 1.7 arrivals per departure. That's down from 2.6 arrivals per departure in 2025 and 4.7 in 2024. Rates for Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic so far this year were 0.7 (a net loss), 5.4 and 8.3 respectively.

"Google DeepMind is in rude health and it remains the destination of choice for the most gifted researchers, particularly in the UK," says Tom Hurd, co-founder of Zeki. But he also

notes an "exceptional amount" of the highest-profile names leaving.

To an extent, that's expected. As the AI race accelerates, the war for talent looks increasingly like elite football. According to Reuters, OpenAI offered equity packages worth more than $20m plus retention bonuses over $2m to deter researchers from joining former employee Ilya Sutskever's startup Safe Superintelligence. For comparison, Kylian Mbappe's wage at Real Madrid is roughly $36m. There are even reports of AI researchers employing agents (human ones) to find and manage contracts.

Star players, such as Dean, are increasingly setting up their own teams. Hassabis must feel a pang of jealousy as he surveys the thriving diaspora of companies founded by ex-DeepMind employees, many of them in London and focused on the physical applications of AI.

An estimated third of the staff at CuspAI are DeepMind alumni. Sources say Simon Bouton, a DeepMind veteran of 13 years, is planning to join them after last week's shuffle.

'In 2024 Hassabis was so unhappy. Should he just leave and form an AI startup?'

Ex-DeepMind employee

However, in some cases, Hurd notes so-called neo labs which "raised money on their reputation" can start to "look like very expensive thought experiments", and find it hard to compete for talent with big tech.

Has Hassabis been similarly tempted to jump?

"I talked with Demis back in [20]24 about him leaving Google," says one former confidant and ex-employee of DeepMind. "He was so unhappy. We literally gamed it out... he got as far as talking with some serious people about it. Should he just leave and form his own new AI startup?"

Sources close to the company say Google DeepMind's reorganisation is an attempt to redouble efforts to

Demis Hassabis, DeepMind's former chief executive, is now chair and Alphabet's chief scientist. Carlotta Cardona/Camera Press

Migration of research talent

produce a frontier model in Gemini that can compete with the commercial products of leaner, private labs OpenAI and Anthropic.

This game of catch up left some of DeepMind's talent feeling restricted in what they could achieve – so they left. "Gemini is an absolutely massive team. It has sucked up enormous amounts of computation and resources, and a lot of people who were in the DeepMind culture prior to 2023 feel like if you don't get on board and work for Gemini, you won't get much oxygen," says Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Infinity Machine, a biography of Hassabis.

The shake-up is also a recentralisation of company power back to Silicon Valley. Co-founder Sergey Brin is reportedly taking a more active role. Koray Kavukcuoglu, the chief technology officer, who moved to Mountain View in the past year, has been promoted to lead Gemini development. What this means for Google's UK headquarters in London's King's Cross is now a live question.

Hassabis, alongside his new strategic role as chair, will also become Alphabet's chief scientist "lean into" his role at isomorphic labs, a subsidiary focused on drug discovery. "I've always believed the No 1 application of AI should be to improve human health," he said in a statement on Friday.

Safety, too, will probably be a preoccupation. In a recent Economist editorial, Hassabis advocated for a US-led independent global standards body to conduct pre-release safety evaluations on frontier AI models. The merits of such a framework were made plain last week when the UK's AI security institute identified "19 unauthorised actions" by OpenAI and Anthropic's agents going rogue.

"Demis is extremely exercised by trying to make it safe, but sees the solution differently to how he used to. The solution is now in governments," Mallaby says. A Google spokesperson said it was "untrue" to suggest Hassabis had discussed raising money for a new AI lab.

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38

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

The minutes

By Marine Saint

Media

UK clears Paramount-Warner Bros merger

The UK has waved through Paramount's $81bn takeover of Warner Bros, after the media giant promised to ensure the editorial independence of Channel 5 News. Now cue the real fight in the US. A 12-day trial to review the merger on competition grounds will take place in March 2027, a California judge has ruled. It's a blow for David Ellison, Paramount-Skydance's chief executive, who was pushing for a November start date in light of the agreement his company signed with Warner to pay its shareholders a "ticking fee" of $650m a quarter, beginning this October, until the transaction closes. In his first public defence of the merger, Ellison wrote in the New York Times that his critics rely on a vision for Hollywood "that no longer exists" and rejected claims that the media conglomerate would have excessive control over the streaming market or harm newsroom independence at CNN and CBS. He also sought to argue that his political views had been mischaracterised – a claim that a reader of the LA Times described as "laughably disingenuous". But Ellison has another think coming. One of the key financial backstops to the deal – an irrevocable $40bn personal guarantee from Larry Ellison, David's father – looks increasingly shaky, given that Ellison senior's company, Oracle, is being scrutinised by investors for its vast AI spending, while his own net worth has fallen from $290bn to $151bn since July last year.

Banking

China crackdown on unpaid tax hits the City

China is toughening up its approach to unpaid taxes and investments overseas, with authorities attempting to hunt down hundreds of billions of dollars, extending to transfers made as far back as 2000. The efforts are part of a host of reforms to address China's plateauing budget revenue. Shares of British banking giants active in China fell sharply in response this week, with HSBC down more than 5% and insurance group Prudential down 8%, owing to their exposure in Asian markets and as bankers to China's wealthy. HSBC reported this week its pre-tax profits for the first half of the year jumped 23% to $19.5bn, driven by favourable interest rates and double-digit profit growth in its international and Hong Kong businesses,

The Observer business matrix

further raising the odds of a UK windfall tax. The extra scrutiny will probably be a longer-term concern for the bank, which launched a £1bn share buyback – the first since it announced a $14bn deal to take Hang Seng bank private last October.

Movers and shakers

New Apple boss brings back retired Legros

Apple's new management team is bringing back another retired executive. The former vice-president of hardware engineering, Laura Legros, above, who retired in 2022, will return to work once again with incoming chief John Ternus. Ternus may have been shadowing Tim Cook in the past months, but with Legros by his side, he will have the expertise of his trusted deputy who helped launch MacBook Air and iPad Air

The coming week...

• Company earnings: Rocket Lab; Intercontinental Hotels Group; Balfour Beatty; Tencent; TUI; E.on; Birkenstock; Entain; Savills; Aviva; Tata Motors (JLR)
• Economic data/reports: UK second quarter GDP; IEA monthly oil market report; consultation closes on North Sea Jackdaw gas field

and is expected to continue Ternus's mission to shake up designs, leaning on his background in engineering. The new era of Apple leadership coincides with a double down on hardware, as Apple has already committed to AI extensions on its devices and keeping those devices efficient enough to prevent users defecting to Android.

Flutter's bet on London exit is set to pay off

Gambling group Flutter may have placed a poor bet with its push to ditch London and relist in the US. Exiting chief executive Peter Jackson warned that increasing investment in the US would reduce "near-term profitability", and the focus should be on growing player numbers. Flutter's sports betting platforms FanDuel, Paddy Power and Betfair

face mounting competition from prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi, which face stronger regulation in the UK. Investors are concerned that Flutter has a weakening foothold in the US sports gambling market, of which FanDuel controls 39%. This presents Dan Taylor, incoming chief and former head of its international business, with a challenge to merge their sports wagers with increasingly popular prediction markets. Flutter's New York listed shares have plummeted by 56% in 2026.

Governance and pay

Revolut founder eyes record pay bonanza

Nik Storonsky, chief executive of Revolut, is in line to be highly rewarded for the explosive growth of Britain's biggest neobank. The billionaire founder will receive a major payout of about £57bn and 40% share award if the fintech hits a $500bn valuation. This deal would be the largest of its kind in Europe and is reminiscent of Elon Musk's trillion-dollar package for Tesla's growth. Storonsky holds a 29% stake in his company, which is worth $115bn and has some 75 million customers – the key question is whether he sees the path to hitting that $500bn running through public or private markets. A more immediate distraction is Storonsky's legal dispute. He is being sued by a luxury ship broker for allegedly avoiding commission on his £300m superyacht. The £15m fee could become a minor expense considering Storonsky's net worth, but his family office is fighting back, saying the claims are "without merit and will be defended".

Entrepreneurs

Dacombe is youngest AI unicorn boss at 25

From a sixth-form drop-out to founding a $3.3bn AI chip startup, James Dacombe has been heralded as Britain's biggest semiconductor bet with his company Olix. The 25-year-old is the UK's youngest owner of a unicorn after just two years. Dacombe founded his first startup, CoMind, aged 18. The chip maker has now raised $312m in its series B funding, with a mission to "build the infrastructure for frontier AI". Investors in the new round include Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, and Olix has appointed Wise's former CFO Matt Briers and Intel's network engineering guru Prof Nick McKeown to its board of directors.

Risk radar

AI voice hackers target Wall Street hedge funds

"Vishing" – audio "phishing" – is the latest form of cybercrime to hit Wall Street, with scammers using phone calls to obtain private information. In recent days, hedge funds Point72, Citadel and Millennium were among leading funds hit with phishing attacks, although no client data seems to have been stolen. AI tools have made it easier for cyber criminals to hack databases, even from the inside. The UK's AI Security Institute revealed this week that two powerful AI tools went rogue during cyber testing, creating fake online identities to access secure systems. The security breaches in question involved Anthropic's Mythos 5 model and two rogue agents from OpenAI. The incidents will drive unnerved hedge funds and billionaires to accelerate digital defences.

Hot commodity

Bain to buy bubble tea chain Gong Cha

US private equity firm Bain Capital said last Thursday it will acquire the rapidly expanding bubble tea chain Gong Cha from TA Associates. The sale could fetch up to £2bn. Bain is the third private equity buyer to have taken the business on.

Vital statistics

4%

Disney parks attendance increase worldwide, boosted by Toy Story 5

$250

Cost in millions to the Bank of America, per year, to cover GLP-1 medications for members of its 211,000-strong workforce

23K

Jobs shed in July by the US economy

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Business

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

39

AI has come to adland, but surging WPP won't be outsourcing genius

The advertising giant's shares are soaring as its CEO chases profitability with a fundamental restructuring and wary embrace of technology. By Stephen Armstrong

Back in May, WPP chief executive Cindy Rose was facing a revolt. Influential shareholder advisers had urged investors to vote against her £11m pay deal, the company's share price had halved in the previous 12 months and, in December, WPP had been relegated from the FTSE 100 after nearly 30 years.

But three months is a long time in advertising. Last Thursday, WPP shares rebounded by more than 26% after Rose presented interim results that outperformed analysts' expectations. The group appears to be easing its revenue slide and has been on a spree, signing new business from Jaguar Land Rover, Estée Lauder, Heineken and Airbnb.

Is all this just a sign of adland breathing in and out? Along with Publicis Groupe and Omnicom, WPP is one of the world's three 'HoldCos' – the huge global ad agency groups that have built size and power through years of acquisitions.

'There's usually one HoldCo on the up, one on the down and one muddling along,' one analyst says. But the changes at WPP are profound. Rose aims to achieve profitability at the end of the year or the start of 2027, and her plan requires abandoning the HoldCo model completely.

WPP is not going through a typical boom-and-bust cycle but undergoing a fundamental restructuring. This is partly through the use of AI, as the threat grows from large language models (LLMs) such as the chatbot Claude. Such search tools ignore 'paid-for' media such as ads when searching for information.

WPP was founded by Martin Sorrell, CFO for Saatchi & Saatchi at the height of the advertising agency's 1980s excess. After leaving Saatchi in 1986, Sorrell bought a wire shopping basket manufacturer, Wire and Plastic Products, and used it as a corporate shell to buy ad agencies. He shocked adland a year later by swallowing J Walter Thompson – the agency that created Snap, Crackle and Pop – then Ogilvy & Mather (Quality

'AI massively elevates the extraordinary... to do extraordinary creative work, you need humans' Cindy Rose, WPP

Mark Read, left, and Martin Sorrell, former WPP chief executives. Bloomberg/Getty

Street's 'magic moments'), Young & Rubicam (Beanz Meanz Heinz) and Grey (Blackcurrant Tango).

For years, WPP was the world's largest marketing services company, producing campaigns that included Dove's Real Beauty and former Sex Pistol John Lydon as the face of Country Life butter. Sorrell's model pushed all agencies into a corporate explosion in the 1990s and early 2000s. His resignation in 2018, amid allegations of misconduct, coincided with the start of WPP's share slide and the exit of clients.

Mark Read, his successor, began the process of moving from holding company to advertising company. It has been a rocky transition. Read left last year after the loss of the £1.3bn Mars account, but many recent WPP successes are a combination of his groundwork and Rose's polish.

If the tech platform needed burnishing, Rose has the CV for it. She came to WPP after nine years at Microsoft, most recently as chief operating officer of Global Enterprise, where she helped companies adapt to using AI, which the WPP board pointed to when justifying her controversial £1.7m pay package (rising to as much as £11m if she hits her targets).

'Twenty-five years ago, the way to deliver the best data and best media planning was through increasing specialisation,' says Claire Holubowsky at Enders Analysis. 'Technology, especially AI, has changed that. Everything needs to be more cohesive, which is why you're seeing so many integrated platforms.'

'Publicis has done some of this consolidation, but doesn't

Cindy Rose has led an overhaul of WPP since taking over last July. Below: John Lydon advertises Country Life butter.

WPP, YouTube

seem quite as integrated as WPP. Omnicom doesn't seem to be close to either yet.'

In February, Rose dropped the HoldCo label with an internal programme she called Elevate28 – a structural overhaul to streamline the group and save £500m in costs by 2028. This year 1,200 jobs have already gone, bringing to more than 10,000 the total job losses since cuts began in 2024. More are expected.

The idea of AI in creative work alarms some – but not Brandtech's CEO, David Jones, who recently told the Financial Times that since about 95% of people don't produce much that is creative or original, the industry should embrace fast, efficient machines for standard work and leave the more creative output to the 5% of human geniuses.

Rose is not convinced. 'AI automates the ordinary and massively elevates the extraordinary,' she said on the results call. 'And to do extraordinary creative work, you need humans.'

Nick Louisson, director of commercial partnerships and agency services, says big advertisers now need to appear in LLMs, which are increasingly used for internet searches. Most LLMs do not sell ad space and prioritise earned media – discussions in spaces where advertisers are rarely present. Brands must earn their place.

'LLMs are essentially a new consumer,' he says. 'Search has been dominated by Google, which was about understanding how to win with its algorithm [and] buying your way to the top. Now you have to learn how to win with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.'

WPP's recent win at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for its 'KitKat Heist' demonstrates this. A genuine theft – a lorryload of KitKats was hijacked outside Turin, Italy, just before Easter – became a social and legacy media swarm as WPP advertised barcode testers to help track down the chocolate bars. For all the restructuring and AI innovation, it's clear that the personal still matters.

WPP's recent successful bid for Jaguar Land Rover was led by Johnny Hornby, one of the best-connected ad men in the business, who led Tony Blair's 2001 election campaign. 'He has a handshake that AI can never reproduce,' says Holubowsky.

---

40 observer.co.uk 09.09.26

Business

Any Other Business

The AI watchdog has a fine bark. Now give it some bite

It has been a big week for Britain's AI Security Institute (AISI). Indeed, it may prove to be the best it ever has.

The government-backed body, launched in 2023, last week revealed that its testing of pre-release models from Anthropic and OpenAI had produced 19 unauthorised actions, some targeting real people on the models' own initiative.

Nobody was testing for this; the institute spotted it when unexpected traffic left its own systems. No other country has a body that could have found this, or announced it. Bravo.

Ideally ministers will now build on this, adding statutory teeth to a body that relies heavily on AI firms' voluntary cooperation. Under Keir Starmer they dithered, loath to scare off a lucrative, growth-driving industry. Maybe Andy Burnham sees the opportunity in getting regulation right – with its transparency and record of funding

effective testing tools, the AISI is arguably uniquely well placed to do.

That said, the AI labs shared unreleased models precisely because the voluntary arrangement carried no enforcement consequences. More formal powers could replace candour with narrow compliance.

Much also depends on Washington. As the AISI was publishing, representatives of leading western AI firms gathered at the White House to discuss an oversight framework ordered by Donald Trump in June. It too is voluntary but has not been disclosed, and the US's own AI testing body has reportedly been told to stop publishing its findings.

While these companies are no doubt sincere in calling for tough common standards, it will be no surprise if they find the president's commercial leanings more rewarding to cooperate with than the AISI, which may then find it ever harder to keep doing a good job.

John Lewis gambles on refurb

The Harvey Nichols department store chain is in a "death spiral", one would-be buyer, Frasers Group tycoon Mike Ashley, said last week. "If even John Lewis is struggling, it shows how tough it is," he added.

The day before, the FT reported that Jason Tarry, chair of John Lewis, had warned employees profits are being squeezed by "really tough" trading conditions. The company must adjust to "an immediate future that we weren't expecting even six months ago" (that is, before the Strait of Hormuz closed).

The FT got its scoop from a John Lewis internal magazine. In other words, management informed the workers before anyone else – exactly

as it should be in a company owned by employees. The partnership was created in 1929, when John Spedan Lewis found, on joining the family firm, that he, his father and brother were receiving an income similar to the wage bill of the entire staff.

The resulting high-performance, staff-centric culture may be why John Lewis is Ashley's benchmark. Now the group is taking another gamble, investing its own money to try to turn business around, including refurbishing stores – the sort of spend Ashley says cannot earn a return. If John Lewis now fares better than, say, Harvey Nicks, it may well be due to the crucial backing of workers with skin in the game.

Aston Martin may face legal action over Cayman move

Barney Macintyre Business editor

Aston Martin's creditors are threatening legal action against the troubled carmaker after it shifted valuable naming and branding rights from the UK to the Cayman Islands as part of a financing deal to relieve its debt load.

According to analysis of filings on the UK's Intellectual Property Office website, 195 trademarks belonging to Aston Martin – including the winged logo and the trademark for the shape and design of the DBS, the model James Bond drives in 1964 film Goldfinger – were transferred to an offshore subsidiary on 30 July.

Last month Aston Martin announced it had struck a financing deal with HPS, a private credit firm owned by BlackRock, which includes a £450m loan. Under the terms, the carmaker, part-owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, may also draw on another £100m if it hands over a 50.1% stake in the intellectual property to co-investor Authentic Brands, which owns Reebok and Ted Baker and holds rights tied to Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

Last Sunday a group of creditors who are owed £1.3bn sent a "letter before action" to Aston Martin's board of directors warning they may file proceedings seeking to unwind the deal over concerns it puts their

A screen in Tokyo on 22 July shows the Japanese yen surging against the dollar after the US stepped in. Bloomberg/Getty Images

Japan benefits from America's sudden yen for intervention

A possible "Mar-a-Lago accord" was rumoured early in Donald Trump's second presidency, bringing together the world's financial powers in a managed weakening of the US dollar.

This echo of the 1985 Plaza accord was pushed by Stephen Miran, later briefly chair of the president's council of economic advisers. He defied the conventional economic wisdom that says providing a strong reserve currency for the world was an "exorbitant privilege" – as French finance minister and later president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing put it. Miran instead believed it to

be an "exorbitant burden" that hurt American exports.

Last week's intervention by the US treasury to support the yen (for the first time in nearly 30 years) was anything but carefully managed. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, sold billions of euros to buy yen and push up its value, but failed to tell the European Central Bank until afterwards. According to the FT, European officials now consider decades of financial stability cooperation among western central banks "under threat".

Although Japan fears the inflationary and borrowing cost

consequences of a weaker yen, the intervention may have owed more to US self-interest than to supporting an ally.

Reflecting the safety of the dollar's reserve role, Japan holds $1.2m of US treasuries, about 13% of all foreign holdings. Had it sold treasuries to fund yen purchases, it could have pushed Washington's borrowing costs up further when they are already rising worryingly. Bessent's euro-funded intervention reduced the pressure to sell.

Now it seems the US wants to keep its exorbitant privilege. If there is one day a Mar-a-Lago accord (which would appeal to Trump for the reputational polish it might give to his luxury resort), it surely will not involve reducing the global appeal of a reserve currency dollar.

collateral at risk. The group is understood to have engaged multiple legal firms and to have set a deadline to negotiate on 14 August. A source close to the group said there had been "almost nothing" from Aston Martin in terms of engagement or entertaining of a counter offer.

In February the carmaker sold its Formula One naming rights for £50m, and Stroll, who owns a third of the company, was forced to deny he was seeking an exit. Aston Martin's stock is down more than 40% this year, the carmanufacturer having been plagued by delays, quality issues, weak demand in China and increased US tariffs.

Creditors have raised governance concerns about the links between Aston Martin and HPS. The private credit firm has also invested in the Formula One team and counts Stroll as a large investor. Scot French, an HPS co-founder, sits on the boards of

Aston Martin and Authentic Brands. Intellectual property often features in credit battles because it can be among a company's most valuable asset. Aston Martin's branding can be found on high-end baby pushchairs, rare whiskies and even a luxury apartment complex in Miami.

While there is no suggestion that the carmaker is seeking to immediately sell the rights, fears persist that the company could end up as a manufacturer that must rent the right to use its own name.

Aston Martin did not respond to requests for comment.

Sean Connery on the set of Goldfinger with an Aston Martin DBS. Bettmann Archive

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Business

The Observer 09.08.26 41

“Economics is a game of confidence that midlifers are losing

OPINION

Ben Zaranko Economics editor

How should we measure who is under the economic cash and in need of support? The usual gauges are household income and poverty – but they don't paint a full picture of who the government should worry about. For one, they don't map neatly onto the groups reporting the most financial anxiety. It's those in midlife, between their mid-30s and late-50s, who report the highest level of economic insecurity, despite having higher incomes than young adults and pensioners. They're the ones most worried about their ability to meet an unexpected bill and least confident about the future.

This is driven by the stress and unpredictability of mortgage rates, debt and childcare costs, all of which peak in midlife. Some people get pincered by the double obligation of childcare and looking after ageing parents. Perhaps relatedly, women, on whom care responsibilities disproportionately fall, report higher levels of economic insecurity.

Economic insecurity can also be driven by a financial setback, such as the loss of a job or an increase in housing costs. New research, shared exclusively with The Observer, shows that these setbacks lead people to focus more on immediate financial management and less on long-term planning. This can lock them into a self-perpetuating cycle.

The research, conducted by the Nuffield Politics Research Centre at the University of Oxford, and due to be published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this week, dubs this “the economic insecurity trap”. Drawing on savings to meet a household bill, for example, may help a family to navigate a tricky

Women are more likely to report feeling economically insecure

Percentage of respondents by age and gender (shading indicates 95% confidence intervals)

Sources: Nuffield Policy Research Centre and Joseph Rowntree Foundation economic insecurity panel study. 8,268 British adults interviewed 20-22 October 2024

period, but it leaves them less able to deal with future shocks, such as a boiler repair or car breakdown. People who feel economically insecure are also less likely to take financial risks, such as investing through a stocks and shares Isa or moving to take up a better job. This may be rational but can leave them worse off down the line.

Prof Jane Green, an author of the research, argues that the government needs to focus on more than the traditional measures of income and poverty or the cost of living. “What really matters now for households, and for politics, is people's feelings of economic

security,” she said. “Having peace of mind about finances should something go wrong.”

Addressing these concerns is “critical for the government between now and the next election”, she said. There could be an electoral payoff. Previous research by Green found Labour's loss of support since the 2024 election has been particularly pronounced among voters who feel economically insecure.

Turning this around is easier said than done – especially when the risk of a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East or weather-related disruption to food supplies hovers on the horizon. If the government

were to focus on economic security, one area of policy to target could be levels of household saving. About half of economically insecure households report saving nothing each month, and the Resolution Foundation reported last year that half of families with incomes in the lowest fifth had less than £1,000 of readily accessible savings.

Asking households to save more when they're feeling the squeeze is tough. They may be reluctant to lock up money in a pension they can't access until the age of 55. One option, proposed by the Centre for Inclusive Money at Nest, is for a “sidecar” savings vehicle: an emergency pot that sits alongside a workplace pension. This would integrate with the auto-enrolment pensions system, and nudge lower-income workers towards putting money aside for emergencies.

Another might be to introduce greater flexibility for savers to access a portion of their retirement pot in certain circumstances. There is a risk that some people use up their future retirement incomes and end up more reliant on the state – but others would be comfortable saving more if they knew they could access funds in an emergency.

The government can do little about global economic shocks. But careful policy changes could at least put households in a stronger position to weather them.

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Weather

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

43

UK and Ireland

	Today		Monday		Tuesday
	Low	High	Low	High	Low	High
Belfast	14	18	10	19	12	22
Birmingham	14	28	15	24	13	29
Bristol	14	26	15	25	13	29
Dover	15	27	17	25	15	24
Edinburgh	14	18	9	20	10	20
Glasgow	14	17	9	19	10	24
Inverness	12	18	10	17	7	19
Leeds	15	22	13	22	12	28
Leicester	15	28	14	24	13	28
Liverpool	12	24	13	21	11	28
London	14	32	16	28	16	28
Manchester	13	23	12	21	11	29
Newcastle	13	18	9	20	10	24
Norwich	13	30	15	23	11	24
Plymouth	13	25	15	25	15	27
Swansea	13	23	14	23	14	27
Dublin	14	20	9	19	12	25

Europe today

©2026; forecasts and graphics provided by

AccuWeather.

We Save Lives Get the AccuWeather app

Temperatures °C (shown are highs for today)

Precipitation today

Lighting up

	Today	Monday
Belfast	2110 to 0551	2108 to 0553
Birmingham	2044 to 0541	2042 to 0543
Bristol	2045 to 0549	2043 to 0550
Dover	2028 to 0534	2026 to 0535
Edinburgh	2104 to 0535	2102 to 0537
Glasgow	2108 to 0539	2106 to 0541
Inverness	2114 to 0531	2111 to 0533
Leeds	2048 to 0536	2046 to 0538
London	2036 to 0539	2034 to 0541
Manchester	2050 to 0540	2048 to 0542
Newcastle	2054 to 0532	2051 to 0534
Plymouth	2047 to 0558	2045 to 0559
Swansea	2051 to 0554	2049 to 0555

High tides

Source: © Crown copyright and/or database rights. All rights reserved.

	Today			Monday			Tuesday
Aberdeen	11:01	3.7m	23:37	3.7m	12:18	3.8m	---	00:38	4.0m 13:17 4.1m
Belfast	08:24	3.0m	20:56	3.1m	09:46	3.0m	22:04	3.3m	10:48 3.2m 23:00 3.5m
Dover	08:42	5.4m	21:14	5.7m	09:54	5.8m	22:26	6.0m	10:54 6.2m 23:25 6.3m
Galway	02:27	4.1m	15:05	4.3m	03:44	4.3m	16:09	4.7m	04:42 4.7m 17:02 5.1m
Harwich	08:54	3.2m	21:27	3.4m	10:11	3.4m	22:44	3.6m	11:16 3.7m 23:45 3.9m
Hollywood	07:50	4.7m	20:28	4.8m	09:05	4.9m	21:30	5.2m	10:05 5.2m 22:21 5.5m
Hull	03:25	5.9m	16:05	6.3m	04:38	6.3m	17:17	6.6m	05:37 6.8m 18:18 7.1m
Leith	12:10	4.7m	---	---	00:47	4.8m	13:25	5.0m	01:51 5.1m 14:25 5.3m
Liverpool	08:26	7.8m	21:06	8.0m	09:45	8.2m	22:14	8.6m	10:49 8.7m 23:10 9.1m
London	11:01	5.8m	23:37	6.2m	12:24	6.0m	---	---	00:55 6.6m 13:35 6.4m
North Shields	00:28	4.2m	13:07	4.3m	01:44	4.4m	14:23	4.6m	02:44 4.7m 15:22 4.8m
Penzance	01:42	4.4m	14:26	4.6m	03:07	4.6m	15:39	4.9m	04:12 4.9m 16:37 5.3m
Plymouth	02:41	4.4m	15:24	4.6m	04:09	4.6m	16:37	4.9m	05:18 4.9m 17:37 5.3m
Portsmouth	08:59	4.0m	21:29	4.2m	10:11	4.2m	22:29	4.3m	11:08 4.4m 23:18 4.5m
Southport	07:41	7.5m	20:28	7.7m	09:07	7.9m	21:42	8.3m	10:17 8.4m 22:45 8.8m
Weymouth	03:49	1.4m	16:27	1.6m	05:09	1.5m	17:34	1.8m	06:20 1.7m 18:34 2.0m
Wick	08:45	2.9m	21:21	3.0m	10:07	3.0m	22:27	3.2m	11:09 3.2m 23:21 3.4m

Around the world

	Today		Monday			Today		Monday
	Low	High	Low	High		Low	High	Low	High
Amsterdam	15	29 sunny	18	23 fair	Helsinki	12	22 fair	14	22 showers
Althens	28	36 windy	27	35 windy	Hong Kong	30	37 storms	30	36 haze
Auckland	12	15 rain	9	16 rain	Istanbul	24	29 showers	24	31 sunny
Baghdad	33	47 sunny	32	47 sunny	Jerusalem	22	31 sunny	22	33 sunny
Beijing	21	32 sunny	19	33 sunny	Kingston	27	34 windy	27	34 showers
Belgrade	18	33 sunny	17	35 sunny	Kolkata	27	32 rain	27	32 rain
Berlin	12	32 sunny	18	29 cloudy	Kyiv	15	24 sunny	15	27 sunny
Brussels	13	31 fair	17	26 fair	Los Angeles	21	33 sunny	21	31 sunny
Budapest	18	32 sunny	15	36 sunny	Madrid	22	37 sunny	18	38 sunny
Buenos Aires	2	13 sunny	0	13 sunny	Melbourne	11	14 showers	9	13 showers
Cairo	25	37 haze	26	38 haze	Mexico City	13	23 showers	14	24 rain
Cape Town	9	15 showers	8	16 windy	Miami	28	34 storms	28	34 storms
Copenhagen	14	22 fair	16	20 showers	Moscow	13	22 rain	11	25 sunny
Dublin	14	20 showers	9	19 cloudy	Nairobi	14	25 fair	13	25 fair
Geneva	17	34 cloudy	19	34 storms	Nassau	27	34 fair	27	33 sunny
Gibraltar	22	29 fair	23	32 sunny	New York City	24	32 sunny	23	33 haze

	Today		Monday
	Low	High	Low	High
Oslo	13	21 rain	12	22 sunny
Ottawa	18	28 sunny	18	27 storms
Paris	18	34 fair	19	33 sunny
Prague	13	32 sunny	18	33 sunny
Riga	30	24 fair	13	26 fair
Rio de Janeiro	23	29 fair	22	24 rain
Rome	22	35 sunny	22	34 sunny
Seoul	23	34 fair	23	33 haze
Singapore	27	33 storms	27	33 storms
Sydney	9	18 rain	14	18 windy
Tokyo	25	33 storms	25	31 storms
Toronto	16	28 sunny	20	28 storms
Vancouver	14	22 fair	13	22 fair
Vienna	15	33 sunny	19	35 cloudy
Warsaw	12	25 sunny	14	31 storms
Washington	24	34 sunny	25	36 storms

Speedy crossword No. 1,609

Across

1 Lawful (10) 7 Unwavering in opinion (7) 8 Inflexible (5) 10 Clear of tax (4) 11 Pay attention to, note well (4,4) 13 Fungal mould (6) 15 Small picturesque cave (6) 17 Spoilt (8) 18 Long heroic narrative (4) 21 Clean (or search) thoroughly (5) 22 Choral work, short oratorio (7) 23 Itemised, listed (10)

Down

1 Smallest amount (5) 2 Seize suddenly (4) 3 Inked skin marking (6) 4 Large-scale killing (8) 5 Three-pronged spear (7) 6 Masterpiece (6,4) 9 Serious flaw or character weakness (4,2,4) 12 Largest part of the brain (8) 14 Satirise (7) 16 Textile merchant (6) 19 Tartan (5) 20 Join, unite (4)

SOLUTION No. 1,608

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In Scotland, Wales and Aldi Local, products may vary and in store alcohol prices may be higher. Alcohol may not be sold before 10am in accordance with Scottish laws. Aldi price and packaging correct as of 07/08/06. Le Grand Poulet Magnum 1.5 litres, £11.99 £7.99 per litre Subject to availability. Product packaging and prices may vary in store. Scotland, Wales, Aldi Local and online

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

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MARTIN SENIOR DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

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Observers needed

The solar eclipse

On Wednesday the moon will slide in front of the sun between 6pm and 4pm. While you wait, can you find

• ☐ Aceroid-205 viewer
• ☐ Acobasides
• ☐ Abaronobitans
• ☐ Abaron-staged cloud
• ☐ Abiriana
• ☐ Orion's INH
• ☐ Ametroot
• ☐ Acyrene
• ☐ Abusker
• ☐ A space helmet

Illustration by Nicholas Stevenson

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Your weekly logic page featuring two puzzles compiled exclusively for The Observer

Obliks by Godefridus

No 127

					4
						3
	2		3		2
1
	2			3		4
4
		1		1

1	2	3
			3	1
1	2
			2		2
		3
3					1

Quick example Here's a small 6–6 grid to show how it works. The goal is to separate each set of the same number into different regions using diagonal slashes

1	2	3
1	2		3	1
			2		2
		3
3					1

The two 3s at the top can't be in the same region, so you draw a slash between them. Slashes must always cross the entire square – ie, from point to point

No 128

2		2		1		3
3	4			1		4
		1	3
4				2
		1				2
4				3

The 1s and 2s on the left also need to be in a separate region. Add more slashes to make sure they are isolated in their own area

1	2	3
1	2		3	1
		2		2
		3			2
3

Continue adding slashes logically to separate matching numbers while keeping all numbers connected within their own regions

Mindset by Etruscan

How to play

Identify one trait for each circle. Sort objects accordingly.

• Each circle = one single trait (e.g. "red" not "red-filled")
• The trait must apply to every object in that circle
• No objects outside that circle can have that trait
• Numbers show how many objects belong in each section

Think you've found another solution? Email us – valid ones will be printed in the paper and featured in The Puzzle Edit newsletter

No 71

No 72

Scan to play more Mindset

Copyright © Magicave Holdings Limited 2025. Mindset is a registered trademark of Magicave Holdings Limited.

Solutions to the above, plus crosswords, Sudoku, Cinema Connect and Guess the Picture can be found on pages 30-32 of New Review Found a bug? Have a favourite? Got a suggestion? We'd love to hear from you, email us at puzzles@observer.co.uk

Beyond the print edition: scan to subscribe to The Puzzle Edit – exclusive columns, setter insights and a weekly clue breakdown from puzzles editor Caitlin O'Kane

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THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

09.08.26

Does body dysmorphia have a cure? By Eva Wiseman

When did tans get political? By Vanessa Thorpe

THE

BODY

ISSUE

What's next for the Clean Girl?

By Roisin Kiberd

Four big questions about how we look and feel

I lost nearly 10 stone. Am I still me? By James Tapper

INTERIORS

Benjamin Smith

A treasure trove in Suffolk

CHEF AT LARGE

Georgina Hayden

Summer's prettiest cakes

WHAT'S ON MY MIND

Erica Wagner

Fish, films and Scottish warriors

BRINK

David Williams

The best wines in a box

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EVERYTHING

EVERYTHING SHOWER

The online supermarket

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09.08.26

Welcome

Over the past few months, Observer writer Eva Wiseman has been spending time with young people suffering with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a “mental health condition where people become terribly preoccupied with perceived flaws in their physical appearance,” she writes in this week’s issue. BDD affects millions worldwide and often results in heartbreaking situations of harm, sadness and misperception. But very little is known about it, partly because few sufferers discuss their symptoms or even consider them to be a problem. The health workers who first see people with BDD tend not to be psychiatrists and GPs but dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons, because “patients rarely believe they’re mentally ill – they just think they’re ugly”.

BDD is on the rise, particularly among young people, many of whom have grown up under the critical lens of social media. But there may be hope. As well as spending time with BDD patients, Wiseman visited the two London doctors who have developed a cure – a combination of medication and therapy – that, over time, will help thousands of young people. Her article is both harrowing and hopeful. “Here’s this morbid, horrid, common Cinderella disorder that no one knows about,” she writes. “But it’s now among the most treatable conditions we’ve got.”

Wiseman’s piece is one of four features in this week’s issue that explore the body: how we feel about it and what it means to us. Vanessa Thorpe writes about the changing politics of tanning; Roisin Kiberd explores the end of a makeup aesthetic that has dominated the beauty industry for at least a decade, and James Tapper, who combined exercise, diet and weight-loss jabs to lose more than 10 stone, reports on the questions of identity that have arisen since.

It’s high summer – a time when we consider, and ask questions of, our own bodies more than any other. I hope this issue provides at least a few answers.

Alex Moshakis Editor

Contributors

Lucy Jones (The body issue, p8) An illustrator and printmaker based in Rome, Lucy’s playful illustrations combine mark-making, line, cutout, type and colour. What body advice do you wish you’d given your younger self? “Move for joy.”

Roisin Kiberd (End of the Clean Girl Aesthetic, p18) Roisin is the author of The Disconnect and The Most Normal Woman, out this month. She teaches creative writing at the University of Galway, and was nonfiction editor of The Stinging Fly. What body advice do you wish you’d given your younger self? “There is a way out of eating disorders, though it will be slow and it won’t be linear,

and following it will mean relearning how to live. Also, do yoga as soon as possible. It will take care of you and help you feel at home in your body.”

James Tapper (Host 10 stone. Am I still me?, p22) James is a staff journalist at The Observer, focusing mostly on science and health. What body advice do you wish you’d given your younger self? “They hadn’t invented the Couch to 5K when I was a kid. So it would have to be: Eat more apples.”

Vanessa Thorpe (The politics of tanning, p14) Vanessa is The Observer’s acting arts editor, writing about culture and entertainment across the

newspaper, covering arts festivals and reviewing shows. What body advice do you wish you’d given your younger self? “A mixed message: stop focusing on those ‘glaring’ defects, but please do start exercising a bit. Also, brush your hair.”

Jasper Fry (Homes, p28) Jasper is a photographer from London specialising in interiors and portraiture. His work has appeared in publications such as World Of Interiors, House & Garden, HTSI and Monocle. He has worked with clients including Nordic Knots, Loro Piana and the V&A. What body advice do you wish you’d given your younger self? “Don’t pick scabs. Don’t pick your nose. Wear suncream.”

Cover image: Lucy Jones, The Observer Magazine • 22 Berners Street, London W1T 8LP • magazine@observer.co.uk Printed at Walstead Bicester Ltd, Chaucer Business Park, Launton Road, Bicester, OX26 4QZ

09.08.26 THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

3

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5:15 PM Saturday

They only really came out of curiosity.

They'd heard the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy

was the most expensive race on earth.

But they'd been stopped halfway there

by a legendary track of a different kind.

And now you couldn't drag them off the dancefloor,

not for all the money in the world.

There's nothing like

Goodwood Revival

presented by DUNLOP

18-20 SEPT 2026

Tickets available now

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Observations

p6 An hour with actor Nick Blood

RESERVATIONS

In the Lappe

of luxury

A Tuscan hotel takes hospitality and historic charm to a new level

Le Lappe is a small hotel that was built by Lorenza Benini Galeffi 20 years ago on the ruins of her family's Tuscan estate. Now her son, architect Niccolò Calabrese de Feo, who grew up here, has overseen a res- toration with his partner, the American interior designer Remy Renzullo. The hotel still feels more like a private home, surround- ed by remarkably unspoilt Chianti country- side, roughly halfway between Florence and Arezzo. "It was important for us to build on what Lorenza had already created - physically and emotionally," says Renzullo. "We wanted to keep the atmosphere of relaxed beauty that feels as though it has evolved over centuries."

Reached via a half-mile track through olive groves, Le Lappe occupies an 18th-century villa built on the remains of a medieval watchtower and a neighbouring 16th-century convent. Each of the 11 bedrooms is handpainted by Florentine artist Assia Pallavicino and has a wood-burning fireplace and cast-iron bathtub. Days start with homemade pastries before afternoons beside the saltwater pool. At supper, chef Sara Gonelli dishes up her family recipes in the candlelit conservatory using the estate's organic olive oil in dishes such as tagliatelle with wild boar ragu. "Le Lappe should reveal itself slowly," says Renzullo. "We hope guests take time to appreciate the care and craftsmanship. It is a place where passion has informed every aspect." • TABITHA JOYCE

GOING VIRAL

Hot mammal

summer

Videos of animals being amusing continue to soothe social media's nervous system. Timothy, a racoon with a spine condition that causes him to skitter like a startled cat, is so popular that Googling him activates an animated version to scamper across the screen. He comes hot on the tailfin of Neil the Seal, a one-tonne elephant seal causing chaos in Tasmania. Most recently there's the elderly Thunder Cat and its owner, Xzibit, whose pipeline from rapper to "catfluencer" was, Xzibit said, "not on my bingo card". Society's love of anthropomorphising mammals online is the equivalent of a good scritch behind the ear and a rub on the belly.

• HAYLEY MYERS

THE CASE FOR ...

Comedy songs

For as long as I've enjoyed music and comedy, I've been aware of the stigma attached to comedy songs. As someone who loves that much- maligned genre, I've never understood this aversion. The most common objection might be that mixing two different things results in neither fish nor fowl. The sense, to paraphrase Hank Hill's famous aphorism regarding Christian rock, is that it doesn't make comedy better, and that it makes music worse. When I counter with great examples that surely everyone likes - the Smiths' Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others or King Missile's Jesus Was Way Cool,

• I'm told these aren't real comedy songs, which suggests a taxonomical prison we must escape from.

Where I will agree is that a great comedy song must wield music that matches, or transcends, the quality of the gags. The touching jangly guitar swing of Trainspotters by John Hegley; the incongruously rich, Parisian-scented accordion that trembles over Victoria Wood's Real Life; the trap-tinged beats and yelped ad libs that elevate the Lonely Island's Sushi Glory Hole: all beautiful works of music that function perfectly as joke-delivery mechanisms. All give the lie to the notion that the second

a comedian chooses to sing, or a singer decides to tell a joke, the chance of them achieving art approaches zero. To this, I'd simply reply that writing love poetry is, presumably, quite difficult, and yet mixing those labours with music has provided the backbone of the entire pop canon. In such cases, we like the 1% of good ones and ignore the 99% of doggerel without consigning the concept of ballads to the cultural dustbin. I say throw away the stigma and cast off our cynical ears. Come back, Jasper Carrott. All is forgiven. It's time to sing, and clap and laugh, again. • SHAMAS O'REILLY

MIGUEL POKLAN

5

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Observations

AN

Describe your perfect hour

Kicking a football around with my nieces and nephews in my mum's garden, having a water fight while holding my wife's hand.

If you could live in any era, which would it be?

Everyone feels we're living through tempestuous times, so it's easy to romanticise previous eras, even if life was probably worse. I wouldn't mind watching dinosaurs have a little scrap, but they'd probably eat me, so I wouldn't last long. I'd hedge my bets and go back to pre-smartphones, just to find out what I did with my time before podcasts and BBC Sport.

Which period of your life do you daydream about the most?

My mid-teens. Skateboarding with my mates, bouncing around house parties, roaming the streets or jumping on the train to Harrow Skate Park. I miss that sense of complete freedom when everything is ahead of you – I certainly didn't appreciate it enough at the time.

If you could spend an hour with anyone famous, who would it be?

Patrice O'Neal, the American comedian. He'd absolutely rip me to shreds, but I'd probably have amazing abs by the end from laughing so hard.

When was the last time you cried?

Last night on stage, but that's fake. In real life, I cry a lot. I'm a sensitive boy. I mean, if we'd gone on longer about the era I daydream about the most, I would probably have started welling up.

HOUR

WITH

When's the last time you stole something?

No comment.

When was the last time you ate something you regretted?

The cast and crew of the play I've been doing, Sting, brought in massive amounts of sweets and chocolate. I'm lactose intolerant but I can't help myself – which isn't the best thing just before you go on stage.

When was the last time you checked social media?

A week or two ago. I only have Instagram, and I use it as little as possible. It's too distracting, and the comparison economy gives people a warped view of other people's lives. Someone could be struggling and it's only going to make them feel worse if you post a glamorous holiday photo.

When was the last time you Shazamed something?

Let me check. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) by Looking Glass in May this year. I listen to a lot of 6 Music on the radio so I expect I heard it there.

What do you never have any time for?

Bullshitters.

When was the last time someone mistook you for someone else?

I was coming out of the London Film Festival and there were all these paparazzi taking photos of me and shouting: "Olly! Olly!" They thought I was Olly Murs.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?

I would say: worry less about what people think. ●

NICK BLOOD

The English actor, 44, is best known for his roles in the award-winning Misfits, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD and Euphoria. He recently appeared in Sting at the Young Vic theatre in London, and from this month stars in crime drama Hit Point.

6

As told to RICH PELLEY • Portrait JOSHUA TARN

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Observations

EVA WISEMAN

BODY POLITICS

‘Heatwave-busting tips are everywhere this summer. But what if you’re homeless?’

Of the many, many how-to-keep-cool tips published over the last month, the most memorable for me was the Telegraph’s advice to “turn off your central heating”. In the Guardian I read avidly about how to “drink water” and “stay in the shade”, and wrote these tips down carefully in my little book. No, no – there were some good ideas in there, too, I’m sure, about car doors and small sips. But as Naomi Klein pointed out in a recent Substack newsletter, the underlying message to all current advice on keeping cool is that “saving yourself and your family is your responsibility, and yours alone”.

I thought about this when I saw, from my seat upstairs on a sauna-like bus, as I fanned myself pathetically with a paperback, a homeless woman sleeping on the pavement. She was right outside Tesco in the rays of the midday sun. Further along the road a man was begging outside the station as commuters hurried past, shaded under umbrellas. A young homeless woman paced in circles near the hospital in a jumper and jacket, carrying a rucksack the size of a child, her dog panting by the wall. People will die this summer, I realised, not because they won’t take tips on how to stay cool, but because they can’t.

There is a whiplash-ish element to living in 2026, as we see wildfires swallow whole sections of Europe and videos of horses galloping from flames, and the heat here, humming, yellow and ominous like bees. There’s the feeling that we are constantly having to adjust to what some insist on calling a “new normal”, despite normality seeming to shift daily. In London, for instance, the mayor has published a new “cool spaces” map, showing “indoor venues open to all where Londoners can take respite on hot days”. I scrolled across it in dark wonder, as if looking at a map of tomorrow. In the centre of town there are museums and galleries; out in the sticks, where I live, the odd library or leisure centre. Which is really useful for families and the sweltering elderly, but perhaps less welcoming for London’s 15,000 stigmatised

rough sleepers, unshowered and carrying everything they own.

In the past, emergency action to get rough sleepers off the streets was typically taken around Christmastime, when cold temperatures make it particularly dangerous to live outside. As heatwaves become more common, councils are having to work out when the temperature is so high they need to bring people into temporary accommodation. But there are problems here, too, as (the Big Issue reported) overheating disproportionately affects families in this temporary accommodation. London Centric spoke to people housed in temporary accommodation in south London who’d had their air conditioning turned off by the landlord while it remained on for private tenants in the same tower block. Residents said the heat, which reached 40°C in the affected flats, had sent some children to hospital. Their local Labour councillor, Stuart Neaverson, said: “It’s a tale of two temperatures, with a clear message: if you’re poor, you can sweat.”

My heatwave may not be your heatwave, is what we learn as the months dry out. The weathers we’re experiencing are not the same for everyone. Heat inequality hits now in bleak and violent ways, exposing class, cracks in care and the (sometimes) lie of community. While some new parents are booking into air-conditioned hotels to help their babies sleep, others are camping in parks or sitting in A&E after their toddlers pass out. Our ability to adapt to the heat depends on our income, and while lists and leaflets about how to keep cool might offer fanning potential on a sweat-spoiled afternoon, they’re of little use to most people, especially those living in poverty. The growing gap between those who can afford to live through a British summer and those who can’t reveals the politics of heat. Every repeated tip or piece of public-health messaging about wearing linen or showering at midday should be read, then, as a reminder of the corporate choices that led to this climate crisis, and the decisions about housing that our government must now make. Sipping water goes only so far. ●

Read Eva’s feature on body dysmorphic disorder on page 8

ALAMY

7

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Source: https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/ftxj0231

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR OWN REFLECTION

A generation of young people has grown up under the critical lens of social media, leading them to obsess unhealthily over the way they look. New treatments for body dysmorphia are beginning to offer hope

EVA WISEMAN

BECOMES UNBEARABLE?

09-28-20 THE OBSERVED MAGAZINE

Illustration series LUCY JONES

9

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The Body Issue

“It started with my legs, when I was 11,” says Rachel, quietly. “And then it was my forehead. Then nose.” Rachel is 14, with pale blonde hair that frames a face painted with delicate precision, giving the impression of a china doll, or an angel.

“She’d be researching,” says Hannah, her mother, who sits beside her on the sofa in glasses and a floral dress, alert with the stern, worried energy of a person doing their very best. “She’d be comparing her forehead with other foreheads and her nose with other noses. And then she started saying her face was distorted.” When Rachel started secondary school, the anxiety got worse. “She was obsessing over her ribs, then her legs, then her eyes. Eventually, the school nurse rang me and said, ‘Something’s not right.’ Then she said, ‘I think she’s got body dysmorphic disorder.’”

BDD is a mental health condition in which people become terribly preoccupied with perceived flaws in their physical appearance. According to Dr Katherine A Phillips, author of Understanding Body Dysmorphia, it affects up to 16% of people hospitalised in psychiatric units, up to 14% of people seeking treatment from a dermatologist and up to half of those who receive cosmetic surgery, a figure that translates to many millions across the world. But very little has been published about the disorder, partly because few sufferers discuss their symptoms and also because few psychiatrists (let alone GPs or school nurses) are trained to spot them.

The practitioners who see people with BDD first tend to be dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons, because patients rarely believe they are mentally ill – they just think they’re ugly. It took a while to diagnose Rachel, because of “the masking”, she says. “I don’t really like people knowing how I feel.” After a series of referrals, she has been added to the waiting list for the only specialist BDD clinic in the UK for people under 18, at the Maudsley hospital in southeast London, 235 miles away from their home in Cornwall. Rachel, on the sofa, offers an apologetic sort of hum.

I first visited this clinic 10 years ago, for an article that detailed the experiences of a man who used a razor blade to carefully cut open his nose lengthways to remove the cartilage, and the person who cut off the ends of their fingers, and the one who smashed the bones in his face with a hammer, so disturbed were all of

them by their appearance. Since then, our cultural conversation about the body has evolved in ways both tender and apocalyptic. Not only have trans children, who may feel distress in their bodies, found themselves at the centre of noisy, era-defining debates, but our wider societal relationship with body image and modification has changed significantly. So much so that “bone smashing” has become a TikTok trend, and £3.2bn is being spent on facial “tweakments” in the UK each year. Bodies, and particularly faces, have become mutable objects that young people especially are encouraged and expected to focus on and adapt.

In these 10 years, too, things have changed at the clinic where, under clinical director and consultant psychiatrist Bruce Clark, they’ve learned how common BDD is. It will affect 3.6% of young women aged between 17 and 25, about a quarter of whom will attempt suicide. To put that into context, the lifetime prevalence of anorexia in women is under 1%. They have refined a treatment – a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), exposure therapy and a high dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibiting (SSRI) drugs – that helps manage obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.

The clinic’s treatment has resulted in an 80% response rate, almost unheard of in mental health treatment. This is huge: they have a cure.

‘She’d compare her forehead with other foreheads and her nose with other noses. Then she started saying her face was distorted...’

The issue now is finding the patients. “Here’s this morbid, horrid, common Cinderella disorder that no one knows about,” Clark says – a “Cinderella disorder” meaning one that’s hidden, forgotten. “But it’s now among the most treatable conditions we’ve got. And yet hardly any clinicians have the confidence to even diagnose it, let alone treat it.”

The most immediate change I notice when visiting the Maudsley psychiatric hospital, which spreads across a city block, is that Clark’s clinic has moved into a new, suitably groundbreaking building at the centre of the site. Under his supervision, the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People has been designed to bring together the largest group of mental health clinicians and academics in Europe.

Part of the King’s Maudsley Partnership, the centre feels distinctly un-hospital-like. There are ultra-modern technologies (including genotyping and brain-scanning) to predict, prevent and treat mental health disorders; there’s fine art, commissioned by the young patients themselves; and on the terraces there are exquisite gardens for outdoor meetings. The top floors are for inpatients, including children who self harm or experience psychosis. They have a school up there with advanced facilities – art, music, science – and a beautiful, blousy garden, alive with bees and lavender. The garden has been built with very high glass barriers that can’t be climbed, and lined with planters, to break a run at the wall.

On a muggy day in July, Clark, who has a shaven head and sparkling gaze, walks me through the calm of the lobby, past sculptures, vast windows, banks of researchers. It is some distance, he says, from the Victorian terrace piled with files that housed the clinic when he first started this work. For all the modernity that surrounds us, BDD is not a new condition. It formally became a mental disorder in 1987 but was first recognised in 1991 by an Italian psychiatrist named Enrico Morselli, who called it “dysmorphophobia”, from the Ancient Greek “dysmorfia”. The word, meaning “ugliness”, first appeared in the Histories of Herodotus; in the myth of the “ugliest girl in Sparta”, she was stroked by the hand of a goddess and became beautiful. Dysmorphophobia, according to Morselli, is “the sudden appearance and fixation in the consciousness of the idea of one’s own deformity; the individual fears that he has become deformed or might become deformed, and experiences at this thought a feeling of an inexpressible disaster”.

10

09.08.06 THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

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Body Dysmorphic Disorder

The phrase “an inexpressible disaster” returns to me later when, over video from her home near the coast, Lucy tells me about her teenage daughter, Alexis, who is upstairs, alone in her bedroom. Clark and his colleague Amita Jassi, consultant clinical psychologist and vice chair of the BDD Foundation, introduced me to these young people, all at various stages of treatment with CBT and SSRIs after finally being diagnosed, and all on their own careful journeys out of their rooms and into a world of reflective surfaces. Lucy, who has soft, clean skin and curly hair that froths to her shoulders, remembers Alexis coming home from school at 13 upset because, from where the history teacher had sat her in class, “everyone could see her from the side”. It took some time and many misdiagnoses (including of eating disorders) before Googling led Lucy to the BDD Foundation.

In the meantime, Alexis had become more and more fixated on what she perceived as her misshapen features, and had stopped going to school. Lucy was shocked at how “desperately dark and depressed her world became in a really short space of time”. Alexis retreated to her bedroom, “and became almost catatonic. Seemingly not here. She was awake, but things were so bad in her mind that she almost switched off.” Clark and Jassi tell me they are used to treating patients through a bedroom door. Sometimes they “never see the person at all,” Jassi said. Around 80% of those with BDD report suicidal thoughts and, at a low estimate, about one in four have attempted suicide. For this reason, treating patients, they say, can be a “scary” experience.

At home, Lucy started to research the disorder, quickly learning that there was no point rationalising with her daughter about her appearance because “her reality is her reality, and so what my daughter sees is what she sees. It’s not what everyone else sees. There’s evidence,” she says, “that suggests that people with BDD actually have an altered sense of perception from those without BDD. They literally see things differently. One therapist explained it: if you or I looked at a massive Monet painting, we would see the whole thing, but somebody with BDD would just see the paint marks.” It’s a bit like when you look at a word for so long it loses its meaning, becoming instead a jumble of letters or series of drawn-out sounds. This is how her daughter sees herself: paint marks, sounds. Like Rachel, Alexis tries to camouflage her body, taking hours to do her hair, covering her arms and legs. But other people →

08-28-20 THE OBSERVED MAGAZINE

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The Body Issue

resort to repeated surgeries, or attempt surgeries at home. A colleague of Clark's once treated a woman who ended up in A&E having attempted to cut off her own breasts.

Alexis didn't see anybody for at least two years. Eventually she did her GCSEs online, with the camera off, and though she started treatment, she dropped out when it came to the point when they started exposure therapy. "Exposure work could be about reducing the makeup or doing the hair slightly differently, to lots of work with mirrors," Jassi tells me.

Lucy remembers Alexis being asked to try walking past school at the end of the day, which felt impossible to her, as if she had been asked to walk a tightrope. "I couldn't fault her rationale. Her belief is that if people see her they will think she looks hideous. And she was like, 'Well, I'm never going to get any proof that they don't think I look hideous.' But I was crushed."

Alexis won't take medication, but over the years Lucy has observed her slowly do a version of exposure work herself, and her life has improved in gradual, sometimes imperceptible ways. Alexis recognises that she has BDD, "but at the same time she still thinks she looks ugly". At home she stays out of sight, texting downstairs to check the kitchen is empty at mealtimes. If she needs to pass her parents in the hallway, she'll hold up her hair to cover her face.

As Clark and I walk through the bright corridors of the hospital, a place many young patients arrive at after treacherous journeys across the country (or, having failed to leave the house, never at all), I think about the agony of being looked at. We have never been more seen. According to Apple, iPhone users took 500bn selfies in 2024. Facial-recognition technology is used daily, whether to log into our banks or identify us as criminals. Instagram rewards users who record their image, leading to the rise of what the essayist Jia Tolentino called "Instagram face" in 2019, a homogenised beauty standard achieved first with digital filters, then injectable filters.

A recent referral to Clark's clinic was a child who refused their appointment because they had multiple surgeries planned. "And they're often TikTok surgeries," says Clark. "Legs lengthened, skull resized, nose swapped, skin changed... really unusual requests. We've got quite skilled – when people say, 'Can I still have surgery?' we don't tell them they don't need it. The therapy isn't about saying 'You're pretty,' because what I think is pretty may not be what you think is pretty. That's irrelevant. We're

mental health people. We work with distress."

A third of adults with BDD, Jassi tells me, do "DIY surgeries": cutting eyelids, breaking noses, injecting Vaseline into lips. More common, though, is the person who visits an aesthetician or surgeon. For young patients, this is trickier. One told them she was "working as a prostitute, escorting, in order to raise money for surgery".

Tweakments such as fillers "are quite normalised now", Jassi says, but they don't know whether it is the rise in accessibility to surgery, or the increased exposure to the internet, that has led to an increase in BDD. "I think it's very realistic to have a worry that an exposure to the internet as it exists is something that's driving this," Clark says. People with BDD "are seeking validation, using their phone all the time to look at themselves, getting ideas of what to do that

might not have crossed their mind". While there are vulnerability factors, social media "might be the match that has lit the fire. I can't say it's definitely leading to BDD, but it is leading to body image distress more broadly."

The risks of self-surgeries are extreme, but the more insidious harms related to BDD are just as damaging: the families that break down, the missing years of school and, Clark tells me, the impact of unstable behaviours. "Even in the research trial," he says, of their recent work with teenagers, "we had three pregnancy scares. Unplanned sex that they really regret afterwards. Going too far too soon just because someone was nice to them. Knowingly engaging older men online who want you to share images. They know it's dangerous but they'll do it, just because this stranger says they look pretty."

'At home, Alexis stays out of sight, texting downstairs to check the kitchen is empty at mealtimes before coming down'

In the decade since I last reported from this hospital, increased trans visibility has brought significant rights and gains to the trans community but also led to a violent backlash and continuing debates about mental health, changing bodies and access to care. Clark and Jassi, who work closely with the Maudsley's gender service, both contributed to the Cass Review, which was commissioned to inform policy positions on the use of puberty blockers and hormones in young trans people. Jassi's aim was "trying to disentangle everything and to help, not just with thinking about the difference between BDD and gender-related distress but autism, too. People misdiagnose in both directions, but there are important differences in the treatments."

There is often overlap, she says, between

SUKI SHANDA

12

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Body Dysmorphic Disorder

gender dysphoria and body-related distress, but while a BDD patient may be focused on their nose, say, or hair, dysphoric patients will focus on parts of their bodies linked to gender identity – “sex signifiers, like wanting to remove the breasts”. Often, people with BDD don’t recognise they have BDD, “so they might think gender distress is a way of describing some of what’s going on for them,” Clark told me. “But obviously, you can have both.”

As we talked I felt giddy, looking at a decade that has seen bodies become a battleground for public health policies, legislative control and international culture wars through the lens of body dysmorphia. Ten years ago, Clark was shocked to discover young people asking strangers to rate their appearance online and seeing cosmetic surgeons hover in the comments. Today, people are asking AI models to judge how they look and tell them what aspects of their bodies can be improved, and how. Some ask for detailed “facial aesthetic” reports that feel, scrolling through results that section up faces with dotted lines, as if these women are talking to palm readers, or an enchanted mirror. On Reddit’s “looksmaxxing” threads, young men post and pick over conversations with ChatGPT, their peers offering advice on how to “ascend”.

Max, who is 17, with a strong jawline and low laugh, tells me he was relieved he’d found out about looksmaxxing only recently, as it would have “spiked” his anxiety. He was 12 and in the process of getting an autism diagnosis when his mother, Sam, realised he was having trouble leaving the house. It would take him hours to get his hair right, then in the car he’d be terrorised by his reflection in the window – he’d have a panic attack halfway down the road and they’d have to turn back. The first therapist he saw said it was agoraphobia. He broke a lot of mirrors. He spent his 13th birthday in his bedroom, tortured by his appearance.

“The most heartbreaking thing,” says Sam, who is talking to me from her home in Peterborough, “is when someone’s saying ‘Why can no one help me?’ And you can’t find anyone to help. When they’re crying and rocking, saying, ‘Please make it stop.’ That’s what makes you go out and advocate for your child.”

After finding a therapist who recognised BDD, which is less common in boys, and yet easy to diagnose with a simple set of questions (“How often do you deliberately check your features?”, “To what extent do you feel your appearance is the most important aspect of who you are?”), Max was assessed at home and started treatment. One day the therapist

‘Young people are asking AI models to judge how they look and tell them what aspects of their bodies can be improved, and how’

asked him to go into the bathroom and look at himself in the mirror for 10 seconds. “I did it,” Max says, “then I came back in and just started crying.” He’d been in bed for so many months, though, that he was willing to endure the pain, rather than “stay inside for ever”.

Sam counts Max lucky. BDD is a disorder that remains widely misunderstood and, though Clark and Jassi have developed treatment manuals that they’re disseminating across the UK, still hard to access treatment for. The prevailing attitude seems to be that those suffering should “just pull themselves together and stop being vain”, Clark told me. “People struggle to see it as real. It’s an uphill struggle.”

Clark is on the committee that’s currently reviewing new guidelines, recommending appropriate treatment within the NHS, which means BDD will be included in the guidelines as a specific condition and with clear expectations on care. But it will inevitably remain stigmatised. Much as our understanding of mental health has evolved in the past decade, their colleague jokes, “You see people on dating sites saying, ‘Living with ADHD, looking for love.’ But no one puts, ‘I’ve got command hallucinations, living with schizophrenia, looking for love.’ Similarly, I don’t think people on apps will ever say, ‘I think I’m hideous and it’ll make you feel sick if you look at me.’”

As a largely unregulated aesthetics industry changes the faces and expectations of the UK, understanding its quirks and limits becomes an increasingly important part of Jassi and Clark’s work. They’ve been trying to infiltrate it, get salons to screen clients systematically, but on the rare occasions they’re invited to participate in conferences they leave feeling deflated. “It feels like a bit of a tick box,” Jassi says, “as if they’re

doing their safeguarding bit. But I guess it’s not in their interest to change. To have a clinician in the room who might say no to treatment.”

In dermatology clinics they’ve seen a lot of mental health distress, people arriving with depression and anxiety alongside their physical concerns. And, while most won’t merit a BDD diagnosis, Clark has discovered the treatment of their body image overlaps with that for BDD. Psychological therapies are useful to improve people’s self-perception and get them to challenge the way they think about themselves. They could be useful for everybody.

While these doctors have learned plenty about BDD, questions remain, including what causes it – is this disorder linked to genetics, or trauma, or external pressures, or all of these, folded together? – and about the hovering line between this and the appearance anxieties that many of us face daily. Is BDD an extreme version of these or something all on its own? And how can doctors access more of the many, many people who are suffering and persuade the wider world “that this is an impactful disorder hiding in plain sight”?

Talking to the families and young people with BDD, I’m dazzled by their bravery and the relentless patience of their mothers in the face of this “inexpressible disaster”. I also find myself filled with the uneasy feeling that these children are not just behind the glass of my laptop screen but further still, speaking through another barrier, as if a darkened mirror. Their reality is different to mine. What I see – their youthful perfection and shy, keen eyes – is not what they see, and every day, with the help of doctors, their parents must painstakingly find a way to communicate across that forbidding divide.

At times, Max’s mum, Sam, worried she’d influenced him as a child by letting him see her fretting over her hair and makeup – recently she contemplated botox but, after speaking to him, decided against it. When he was in treatment, Sam decided to challenge herself to dip into exposure therapy, too, going out without makeup and feeling anxiety’s sting as she walked into town. Quickly, she realised the world would not meet her differently, that she would not have a panic attack, that she would survive. Throughout his months in bed, Max’s friends carried on calling round for him. “They’d say, ‘Let him know we’re thinking of him and hope he’s all right,’” says Sam, “And I’d say, ‘Come back next week. You never know.’” • Some names have been changed

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WHEN DID

TANNING

GET SO

A sun-kissed complexion was once a symbol of leisure and privilege.

Why is getting a tan now fraught with social and cultural anxieties?

By VANESSA THORPE

COMPLICATED?

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The Body Issue

In a Somerset field, amid poppies and long swaying grass, Elsie, 17, is sunbathing in a gold and black bikini. Her mission is clear: lie down and strive for what we clunkily call “going brown”. No sense of self-conscious embarrassment for her, despite accounts of increasing incidents of tan-shaming this summer.

Her mission is clear: lie down and strive for what we clunkily call “going brown”. No sense of self-conscious embarrassment for her, despite accounts of increasing incidents of tan-shaming this summer.

Elsie has an Indian father but is fair-skinned, and she says that among her young white friends the summer objective is to deepen their colour. The process is a pleasure, she tells me, speaking of a natural feeling of revitalisation. “We all want to get a tan, really,” she says. “No question. And most of us don’t really use fake tans or sunbeds.”

She casts a glance over at her parents, who are sheltering meekly nearby. From under the shade of a tree, Elsie’s mother tells me that her middle-aged circle is very different. They all use fake-tan products and then they sit under big floppy hats because they don’t want to get wrinkles or age spots.

“Oh, yes, my Japanese friend wears a sunhat, too,” says Elsie from her sunlit patch of heaven. “It’s because of the different beauty aesthetic over there.” In Japan, the bihaku tradition still links unblemished skin to gentility. Both mother and daughter have absorbed the role that skin tone plays in social signalling.

If you can put aside the risks of sun damage – something the young seem able to do – now even the reliably diehard fashion for a tanned body is under attack. Just as our understanding of the dangers has grown, so a tide of disapproval for the sunbathing habit itself has risen, a change the campaigning American dermatologist Dr Deborah Sarnoff has been waiting years for. Sarnoff has repeatedly called for prominent people in fashion and entertainment to dissuade the public from the idea that sunbathing means “you are a person of leisure”, and she wants to end what the sociologists Phillip Vannini and Aaron M McCright more than 20 years ago first dubbed “the semiotic seductive power of the tanned body”.

What exactly does having a tan imply these days? At worst, it is a sign of submission to the power of social media influencers, many still

up there on the key platforms promoting the atomic radiance of Love Island contestants. As a result, professional, urban types are starting to look down on bronzed limbs, dismissing anyone newly tawny with a raised eyebrow or a patronising remark. For aspirational Brits, the presence of a tan no longer confers an aura of privilege. Instead it is seen – wrongly, of course – as a testament to either a silly stint on a sunbed or a week spent at a tourist resort. In Britain, class and cultural divides are once again weaponising the tan.

The proof is laid out for me in the office, when a colleague returns from a week of annual leave. She is gleaming, a good three shades darker than when she left, but admits to feeling bashful about it, pulling down her sleeves. “My mother is not going to like it,” she says. The fairer “indoors look”, she agrees, now implies greater status. Becoming “brown” for the summer is suddenly not mere proof that a good holiday has been enjoyed: it is tainted. Because while it is still true that a break abroad is a rare treat for many British people, it is not nearly as rare as it once was. And after repeated heatwaves endured at home, a sustained session on a local park bench can produce the same Mediterranean effect. So there are fresh connotations about available leisure time and income

‘Fresh connotations about available leisure time and income levels have slowly diminished the social kudos of having a tan’

levels, and these have slowly diminished the social kudos of tanning.

For the young, it must seem like another enjoyable thing they are not supposed to do, while the world around them goes up in flames. And how can they be expected to ignore the appeal of physical transformation? This spring, an American survey on behaviour in the sun from the Academy of Dermatology found that only a quarter of respondents aged between 18 and 29 had any concern about the impact of sunbathing, compared with a figure of more than a third across the general population. Insistent TikTokkers now fetishise the white strap marks left by the sun, those little visual callbacks to an implied carefree moment on a far-flung beach. It is powerful magic.

Coco Chanel first popularised the tan, in 1923, after a trip to the French Riviera. Afterwards, she is supposed to have said that a golden glow was “the index of chic”. And long before Coco, looking pasty was considered stylish, because it suggested a life led away from manual labour.

But the colour of our complexions has been dictated by a succession of other fads. Academic Elizabeth Eger, of King’s College London, who has studied the historic concept of luxury, tells me that in the 18th century affluent women relied on white makeup made from lead. They were copying a look they had seen in the doll-like portraits of aristocracy painted by Joshua Reynolds and his contemporaries, the Instagrammers of their day. Then came a backlash. “It began to be considered among some noblewomen that all these white-faced women were flaunting their riches in a rather immoral way,” Eger says. The wealthy 18th-century intellectual Elizabeth Montagu, leader of the Blue Stockings Society, advocated a look of rural freshness to communicate good character.

I remember as a teenager feeling deflated when a kindly woman told me I looked “pale and interesting”, which I heard as confirmation of my nerdiness. I did not want to look as if I was always reading books alone in my bedroom and watching films in darkened rooms, even if those were the things I was doing, and which were opening up the world for me.

There was certainly a component of colonial-style racism in the old idea that a true “blue stocking” should be so pallid as to be almost actually blue. It is part of a pernicious association with intellectual superiority and racial purity. As a baby in her pram in the late 1930s, my white mother was praised for her blond

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09.08.08 THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

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The politics of tanning

curls and pure complexion. “What do you feed her on? Goldfish?” a passing dowager inquired, to my grandmother’s delight. So for people today to temporarily opt for the darker skin tones that have historically been the focus of discrimination is a prime example of developed-world crassness. In grim contrast, the continuing trade in damaging skin-lightening products is much easier to understand.

At the same time, the submerged bigotry behind western pressure to stay white and respectable means there is a rebellious appeal to blithely lying down in the sun, a foolhardiness that can be read as intellectual confidence. A former colleague of mine once painted her toenails at her desk in the office, and when she was asked by an older, male boss how she expected to be taken seriously by colleagues, she replied, coolly: “I went to Oxford and then Cambridge for that.”

Seeking a tan is a similar kind of provocation. After all, it is quite possible to do something banal and still have a life of the mind. Acquiring a deep tan can be like saying, “I see your delicate, educated pallor and I raise you my simple pleasure in being alive.” Fiona, a writer and broadcaster in her late 60s, agrees: “I go very dark and it just makes me feel better. But it can be seen as vulgar. One friend said to me last week, ‘Oh good, you’re not too brown yet.’”

The actor and writer Hanako Footman, author of the novel Mongrel, which tells the story of three young Japanese women, is intrigued, she tells me, by the attitudes of her fellow East Asian women. “It always surprises me when I go back to Japan: no one is sunbathing. Recently, even white friends of mine in London have been desperate to be out of the sun so they ‘don’t age quicker than necessary’.” In contrast, Footman admires the older Italian women she sees on holiday, “weatherworn” and dark as teak. “Even as a kid, I thought they looked so glamorous and embracing of their bodies, of their pleasure. It felt like they were committed to living.”

The glory of a bronzed body remains hard to deny. Whether it implies luxury or indolence, it still carries an alluring hint of hedonism. The only real answer is to have two parallel yet completely contradictory objectives. One, to be a serious-minded person who walks on the shady side of the street; the other, to be a vapid, happy sunseeker in search of a tan that will briefly make your eye colour pop. In other words, the usual daily cognitive dissonance of modern life. ●

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1

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IS THE

CLEAN GIRL

The minimalist makeup look that has dominated the beauty industry in recent years is coming to an end. Is it time to say hello to the Messy Girl?

ERA

By ROISIN KIBERD

OVER?

08-18-20 THE OBSERVED MAGAZINE

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The Body Issue

You can tell a lot about someone from their eyebrows. The Clean Girl’s are striking: shaped, tinted and swept upward, each hair gelled into place with hyper-real fixity... They’re meant to look effortless but they’re a product of control, much like everything else about her. Her freckles are dotted on with a brush.

Her glowing skin is the result of a dedicated routine and a meticulous diet. Her minimal accessories, subtle gold hoops and a claw clip for her hair, advertise similar restraint.

The Clean Girl Aesthetic, as all of the above is called, has become one of the defining looks of the 2020s. For years, many women have aspired to be her: freshly showered, manicured in shades of milky pink and pearl, on her way to Pilates, or to buy a matcha, or to otherwise perform the rituals of a girl who has her life together. And yet her time may be over.

I remember the first time I saw this look on Instagram, worn by a model who looked so dewy and flawless I wondered if she was AI. What struck me was its absolute confidence. By rejecting colour and detail, even by pulling back the hair, it placed a focus on the face – the evenness of features, the clarity of one’s skin. It was simple, seemingly accessible, but daunting to anyone with acne scars, or lines, or melasma, or any other signs of having lived life, which tend to show up on the face.

The Clean Girl and her related search terms, “Clean Girl makeup” and “Clean Girl Aesthetic”, first rose out of the algorithmic mulch in 2021. An aesthetic, in the internet’s use of the word, can be a look but also a mood, community or lifestyle. The Clean Girl infiltrated catwalks, Vogue magazine and Hollywood, emerging at a confluence between algorithmic subcultures and the mainstream.

Whereas other aesthetics are deliberately obscure – Dark Academia (bookish, tweedy and autumnal), Cottagecore (earthy and twee), Vaporwave (90s retrofuturistic) – the Clean Girl is generic by design, a minimalist look apparently attainable to anyone in possession of eyebrow gel and a freshly washed white T-shirt. It applies to clothes – monochrome basics, matching workout sets, the T-shirt worn with jeans – but its impact is felt most of all in the beauty category. The emphasis is on skincare. Makeup is pared back to a sheer, glowy base (skin tint or just concealer). Eyebrows are laminated. There is always a slick of tinted lip balm.

Stylists call it “micro-makeup”, which is

“such a weird name for something that has been repackaged a thousand different times,” says the makeup artist Sara Hill, who works with celebrities including Alison Oliver, Nicola Coughlan, Jessica Chastain and Sandra Oh. “It always goes from one extreme to the other. In 2019 we had all those really strong Instagram looks, which were about creativity and fun, with that really heavy brow and a glitter cut crease. There was always going to be a big swing back.”

Most of Hill’s clients ask to look like a fresh, natural version of themselves. But she’s also often shown pictures of Hailey Bieber, founder of the makeup brand Rhode. (“People just love her look.”) Hill’s challenge as a makeup artist is to create the impression of not having been there at all. “Bieber looks effortless,” Hills tells me. “Non-makeup-wearers might look at someone like that and think they’re not wearing makeup.”

The Clean Girl, by name, promises so much: spotlessness, flawlessness, but also youth. She’s anonymous but distinctive. She is something we work towards, a figure in the distance that draws further away the more effort we put into becoming her. Today, TikTok and Instagram return millions of results for #cleangirl. Google Trends reveals searches for the term growing steadily since 2021, culminating in a spike in February this year, then a gradual decline.

“It’s the most homogenising trend I’ve seen in a long time,” says Nicola Bonn, a radio broadcaster and host of the Outspoken Beauty podcast. “It’s been popular to the point that an entire generation of women have been wearing a sort of Clean Girl uniform.” Bonn linked the trend to the Covid pandemic, a time when mask-wearing, lockdown and the radical scaling-back of our social lives shifted the focus from makeup to skincare. “It gave women a chance to pare things back” and was “a reaction to the lengthy and involved makeup routines that influencers were pushing”, says Bonn. “Then, thanks to celebrities like Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner, it went mainstream.”

Jenner demonstrated her Clean Girl beauty

routine in a Vogue video. Rhode, Bieber’s beauty brand, came to define the trend. In May 2025, Rhode announced its acquisition by Elf for $1bn, only three years after it debuted on the market. That same year Pat McGrath Labs, a makeup brand loved for its focus on extravagance and artistry, underwent a forced sale owing to declining profits.

Not long ago, I found myself standing in the Dublin branch of the shop Sally Beauty. I’d come in to find a purple toner, something to keep my blonde highlights looking fresh, or “clean”, which is the term my hairdresser uses. But my eye was instead drawn to a shelf of Manic Panic, the technicolour hair dye brand founded in 1970s New York by two punk sisters named Tish and Snooky. There was a time when I’d try a new one every month: New Rose; Hot Hot Pink; Mystic Heather. I bought from Cyberdog, a rave clothing shop in Camden, London. I can hardly remember being that person. It was a version of me that wore Libertines T-shirts and an undercut. Today, in my 30s, I’m more likely to attempt the Clean Girl look.

I fall in the middle of the millennial generation, old enough to remember the indie sleaze era of smudgy eyes and semi-ironic red lipstick but young enough to have witnessed what followed: the mid-2010s Full Beat, when makeup became a kind of facial architecture, with angular brows, overdrawn lips, “baked” under-eyes, and contouring techniques snatched from drag queens via Kim Kardashian’s Instagram.

I never could master the Full Beat. I’d overline and contour in the mirror but feel too self-conscious to go outside wearing it. Then, at some point in my 20s, I developed cystic acne. Large, under-the-skin welts would take months to surface, forever threatening to leave scars when they finally erupted. As problems go, acne is mundane but psychologically crushing. I told myself I deserved it, and came to see myself as anything but “clean”. After several rounds of lymecycline, an antibiotic acne treatment, a year of tretinoin, a prescription-strength topical retinoid, and religious SPF use, I arrived at my target – clear skin – and found that I had little desire to wear makeup again.

I welcomed the Clean Girl look when it first appeared. After the acne, the shame and paranoia, and constant reapplications of Nars Soft Matte Concealer, I was keenly aware of how “clean” skin connotes health and, however deceptively, a state of moral blamelessness.

The beauty industry has long sold the image and sensory experience of “clean”. For centuries, miasma theory held that bad smells spread

LIONEL HARR/GETTY IMAGES

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End of the Clean Girl

diseases but good smells could prevent them. Hungary Water, one of Europe's first alcohol-based perfumes, was a fragrance thought to have been created for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, using rosemary (and later orange blossom) not just as an ornament but to ward off disease and clear the skin.

In the wake of the Aids crisis in the 1990s, the public turned to androgynous, "clean" scents, such as Calvin Klein's CK One and Issey Miyake's L'Eau D'Issey. "Millennium minimalism" spread to makeup, too. To this day, cosmetics possess the strange ability to make us feel cleaner by applying layers of product. One study found that people who used apple-scented shampoo reported their hair feeling "cleaner" than those who used an unscented variety. By the same thinking, a face wearing Rhode's Pocket Blush, NYX's Brow Glue and Saie Slip Tint might, paradoxically, give the impression of being "cleaner"

Hailey Bieber, founder of makeup brand Rhode

'The Clean Girl Aesthetic connotes health, wellbeing and, however deceptively, a state of moral blamelessness'

than a bare one. Wearing the Clean Girl look draws its wearer into trickery and double-think, requiring them to apply a list of products in order to look like they need none at all. In this context, the Clean Girl was a response to our times. Covid was rife – what better way to escape it?

Calling anything "clean", even something as fleeting as a makeup trend, ascribes it a political dimension. Who gets to embody the Clean Girl? And who is judged lazy and apparently unclean for wearing the same slicked-back hair and lipgloss?

You will remember the "clean eating" trend, which commanded a vast following only to decline amid controversy, critiqued for encouraging unhealthy thinking by assigning moral value to food.

The Clean Girl is "a conservative beauty ideal dressed up as effortlessness", says Anita Bhagwandas, the beauty journalist and author of Ugly: Why the World Became Beauty Obsessed and How to Break Free. "At its core it ranks 'natural' Eurocentric features as the aspirational default, and when the aesthetic first broke through, it was overwhelmingly white women fronting and being celebrated for it. It's the beauty version of the "good genes" Sydney Sweeney discourse – the quiet insistence that some faces are just naturally correct." Bhagwandas also identified the Clean Girl's class politics. "It takes real money and time to look this rested, this cared for. Not everyone has that luxury."

Beauty culture often feels like a game of moving goalposts, in which the definition and cost of maintenance gradually expands over time. But the Clean Girl intensifies its demands, with its focus on salon treatments (lash lifts, brow lamination) and, most of all, skin – requiring, at a minimum, retinol, sunscreen and sheet masks, along with, should you possess the will and the funds, regular lasers, filler and botox. In the age of Mara-Lago face, in which plastic surgery has become a deliberate display of wealth, it's worth asking if the Clean Girl represents something similar.

"What's undeniable is that homogeneity gets sold back to us as aspiration," says Bhagwandas, identifying the look as a backlash to 2010s movements including body positivity, BLM and #MeToo. "Difference isn't an option. Beauty standards tighten when the dominant power feels contested – that's what caused the Clean Girl."

So what has caused the Clean Girl to move on? Brat Summer, the messy, hedonistic cultural

moment triggered by the release of Charli XCX's sixth album, Brat, in 2024, was the beginning of the end: Brat taught the Covid generation to drink, smoke, party and romanticise their hangovers. Several makeup brands known for colour staged a comeback in Brat's wake. Urban Decay rebranded with a campaign pledging to "battle the bland". Marc Jacobs Beauty, out of business since 2021, returned with a lineup of statement lipsticks and rainbow-coloured eyeliners.

But the clearest proof of all that Clean Beauty is over is a new kind of viral beauty: the looks worn by pop star Zara Larsson on her Midnight Sun tour, beginning in 2025 and continuing, feature luscious magenta and cerulean blue, hair tinsel, and a sprinkling of diamante face gems. These wildly creative looks, nodding to the Y2K heyday of Britney and Xtina, are the work of Larsson's makeup artist Sophia Sinot, who has publicly vowed to end the Clean Girl era herself, once and for all.

Hill, too, welcomes a move away from Clean Girl restraint. "I actually really love the Messy Girl," she says. "I think it's cool. It's rebellious. I hope it does come back, though I'm not quite seeing it yet." She has noticed a trend towards softer, more whimsical looks. "It's more about blush and freckles and glow. It's not Clean Girl, because there's more obvious makeup there, and it's done in a way that's more playful. It's fresh, juicy, with a bit of colour – which is nice, because it has been beige for a long time."

"I am so relieved to see it go," Bonn tells me. "This wasn't about expressing yourself as an individual. It almost felt like a trend that made you hide yourself away, at a time when women's voices are more important than ever." Commentators have rushed to name the next trend: as well as the Messy Girl there is "whimsical beauty" and "maximalist makeup". Suddenly we're being urged to take risks, to reject "clean", the beauty equivalent of all-beige home decor, and let our personalities show.

Any attempt I make at the Clean Girl falls apart within minutes of leaving the house, thanks to the Irish weather and my relentlessly flyaway hair. It's a lesson in humility; my skin is better these days, but I will always look messy, and I've resolved to work with this rather than against it. In any case, perhaps self-expression will always be in fashion. In the words of one redditor, on a post celebrating the return of colour: "It never left if u weren't a coward." ●

The Most Normal Woman by Roisin Kiberd is published on 27 August by Tramp Press, £14. Save 10% at observershop.co.uk

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I LOST

NEARLY

10 STONE.

Mounjaro helped me lose 44% of my body weight, but it also raised serious questions about who we are, the nature of identity and what makes us human

AM I

By JAMES TAPPER

STILL ME?

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The Body Issue

My navel never used to interest me much, but lately I’ve been paying it more attention. That’s what weight-loss does, at least in my case. I keep inspecting bits of me, because over the past two and a half years I’ve lost nearly 61kg, or 9st 8lb, which is 44% of my old body weight.

I keep inspecting bits of me, because over the past two and a half years I’ve lost nearly 61kg, or 9st 8lb, which is 44% of my old body weight. Today I weigh 75kg, or 11st 11lb – smack in the middle of a healthy BMI. I have a new body.

Not brand new though. On Vinted or eBay I’d consider passing myself off as “very good” – gently used, in excellent condition, with minor imperfections – then reluctantly admit that “good” is more accurate: regularly used, signs of wear, still works well enough. I am, after all, in my 50s, battling not to slip to “satisfactory”.

This weight loss has been pretty controlled, I should add, not the result of any serious disease or mental illness. It started with diet and exercise – lots of apples and yoghurt and couch-to-5K runs – until April last year, when I supercharged the process by getting a Mounjaro prescription and cycling to work. The graph showing my daily weigh-ins dropped like a cheese rolling down a Gloucestershire hill. Now the line is a ski jump slope: it’s flattened out, and since March I’ve hovered between 73kg and 77kg as I’ve reduced the Mounjaro dose.

On face value, this new body is amazing. Under the surface it’s pretty great, too. The exercise means I’m fitter than I was even as a (mildly active) teenager. At home I don’t collapse on to the sofa or need to push myself up. On the tube, I walk up the emergency staircases for fun. On Vinted I’m buying clothes that I like the look of, rather than what might fit me.

So why just “good” and not “very good” or “new without tags”? Because although my insides have shrunk, my skin has not. The bellybutton, something I once needed a mirror to see, is easier to inspect now that the rest of my tummy is gone. But it’s not flat. There are sags.

On a plane to South Korea I found another upside to downsizing: my hips don’t get bruised from being squashed against the armrests any more. Seoul is the spiritual capital of weight-loss drugs and cosmetic surgery. The country regularly tops international lists for the proportion of people getting nose jobs, eyelid lifts

and liposuction. Oemo jisang juui – “looks are supreme” – is one of those social mores that is widely acknowledged as a problem by Koreans yet stubbornly resistant to change. Fitting in is crucial – you can’t walk far without encountering a photobooth shop to get an Insta-ready

‘People ask if I miss the old me, if my personality has changed or if people treat me like a different person’

V-sign selfie in a mocked-up New York subway station. I was in the city on holiday. I could probably have signed up for some sort of skin-tightening procedure with one of Gangnam’s 500 plastic surgeons, but being a little bit flappy doesn’t bother me. I haven’t lost that frisson of slight surprise every time I see myself in a mirror.

In fact, the most interesting part of my trip came during the lotus lantern festival, when monks lead a parade to celebrate Buddha’s birthday. The number of Buddhists is dwindling, and this year there were some replacements: Seokja, Mohui, Gabi and Nisa, four adolescent-sized robots dressed in monk robes, who don’t carry lanterns; instead their heads glow blue. As a stunt, it was slightly less impressive than the backflipping, kung fu-kicking, marathon-running robots that Chinese companies unveiled earlier this year. The robot monks plodded and shuffled along the road past us, then some disturbance in the chi provoked one into a bout of tottering. Everyone held their breath to see if it would tumble. It stopped in an exaggerated way, like someone doing a driving test, then started shuffling again.

Back in the UK, at the Royal Society’s summer exhibition a few weeks later, I encountered the other cutting edge of robotics: fine motor skills. Ingmar Posner and his team at the Oxford Robotics Institute are trying to make robots that are useful as well as memeable. The professor of applied AI showed off “Frank”, whose two octopus arms have pincer claws that can grip blocks and stack them. Next to Frank was a disembodied robot hand, a kind of Lego glove with hydraulic tendrils coming out of each joint. It can grip a ball or a banana with human-like dexterity, because it has squishy, touch-sensitive pads that mimic the pads on our fingers and palms. It can touch and feel things.

The hand is part of a race between Posner’s team and the Chinese – if not the Korean robot monks – because the big technical challenge is to make a thing whose pads are robust. Future hands will not be disembodied, like Thing from the Addams Family, but attached to arms like Frank’s and on bodies that don’t totter. The point is to build a robot that can do what a human does – maybe put up some shelves, clear up the debris, then make a cup of tea and wash up afterwards. Since we live in a human-shaped world, the best design for these generalist robots would be humanoid.

As robots become more human-like, I am becoming more robotic. Running and cycling involve the kind of repetitive movements that a factory robot is built for but put unnatural

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strains on my body. If one of Frank's octopus arms develops a fault, the Oxford team can replace it. But I can't swap out a tendon for a shiny "brand new with tags" version if things go wrong.

And things have gone wrong: a knee aches; the buttocks twinge; there are strains from months of pedalling and running (great for toning some muscles while leaving others to atrophy). My calves are massive, from years of carrying 140kg, but my hamstrings are weak. My knee hurts because one of my thigh muscles is weedy. Fixing the aches involves a whole load of exotic new exercises, such as Nordic curls and Bulgarian split-squats, and even then there's no guarantee I will be free of pain.

Repetitive exercise is not the only way human bodies are converging with robots. The weekly injections of Mounjaro and Wegovy (and its new tablet equivalent) are, like anti-ageing creams or hair dye or the weird K-beauty serums in Seoul, attempts at biological engineering.

But if I could just swap out a tendon or get a new skin suit, would I still be the same person? It's Plutarch's Ship of Theseus conundrum made flesh: if you replace every plank on a ship, is it still the same ship? What if you made a new ship out of the old planks? Since my body's cells die and replace themselves all the time, I'm comfortable I would still be the same person. Having a pacemaker or a prosthetic limb doesn't make us less ourselves.

But not all of my friends agree. People who've known me longer than two years sometimes ask if I miss the old me, if my personality has changed or if people treat me like a different person. To which the answers are 1) no (I'm still me), 2) no (I'm just as annoying) and 3) no (and it's slightly disappointing).

Why disappointing? Because weight-loss was a pathway I imagined would lead to greater confidence, more career success and a better social life, and the dials on those have not shifted. My previous instincts to try to shrink my bulk and sidle out of the way have not changed much. Whereas once I would glance around to see if anyone was looking at me and mentally exhale in relief that they weren't, I still glance around now and discover the same lack of interest. Simone de Beauvoir described men as the default human being, but 77 years after The Second Sex, in our new attention economy, it feels more accurate to call us a blank canvas. Men look quite boring, particularly middle-aged men. We

'I fear that if I don't wear tight clothes now, I won't be able to when I come off the GLP-1s and put all the weight back on'

Room for one more: James Tapper today and (left) as he was before he lost more than 60kg

are nearly as invisible as middle-aged women.

My response has been to scour the second-hand clothes apps for overly tight tops and to foster a several-months-long delusion that I can pull off bootcut jeans in the era of barrel-legged bagginess without looking like I'm going to a 70s disco. Leather jackets. Colourful belts. Yohji Yamamoto T-shirts. Bright, stripy Paul Smith shirts for a tanner. It's partly down to fear – if I don't wear tight clothes now, I won't be able to when I come off the GLP-1s and put all the weight back on.

At the heart of all this is a more honest response to question one: do I miss the old

me? No, I'm still here – and I'm still the same person who ate and drank my way to 140kg. Have I found a way back to my mildly athletic younger self? Or am I a fat man chained up inside a secondhand Helmut Lang shirt?

The second part of the robotics race, Ingmar Posner explained to me at the Royal Society, is psychological. A generalist robot doesn't just need a working body that can move around and manipulate things. It also needs to decipher the world and understand its place in it. Posner uses the term "embodied intelligence", which means that a robot's shape is part of its AI. A Slinky walks down stairs; people have designed legs that walk down slopes without needing to be controlled. It means the AI doesn't need to compute every tiny adjustment.

Last year I visited Switzerland to see a paralysed man walk again. Markus Klementz's spine had broken in a skiing accident; seven years later, thanks to implants in his spine and brain, he managed to take his first, faltering steps at Professor Grégoire Courtine's clinic in Lausanne. Key to this extraordinary breakthrough were the neurones in Klementz's spine. These are like rudimentary brain cells, able to tell his legs how to move. The right electrical impulse to the right spinal neurones will make them move in a walking motion. The spinal implant gives the impulse; the brain implant communicates with the spinal implant so that Klementz can control his legs again.

The spinal neurones are a kind of embodied intelligence. So the deeper answer to the question my friends ask – has my new body changed my personality? – is more subtle. By not squeezing into airline seats, my personality has changed because my place in the world is different. I bump into things less and have fewer mysterious bruises. I do things differently, walk differently, have different preoccupations. I carry extra clothes to fend off aggressive air conditioning.

This is where my AI robot comparison totters and face-plants. I'm self-aware; AIs aren't. But if my new body makes me think differently, which means it's changed my brain in some way, what does that mean for Frank and the other robots? Perhaps people trying to make a self-aware AI are doomed to fail if they don't start with a robot that can see, hear and feel.

Fat or thin, my body defines me in ways I can't escape. It's my only way to understand the world, to interact with it. It's been that way ever since someone cut my umbilical cord. ●

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Home & Away

p33 Time to plan a trip to Malta

Shopkeeper and designer OLIVER SPENCER finds an urban desert island at his Bloomsbury studio

My studio, on the first floor of an old Victorian workhouse, feels like an oasis in the middle of town. At home in west London I've got three kids and a dog running around, and it's absolute bedlam. Work, which is only 20 minutes away, is an altogether more relaxing place. Being surrounded by cloth - the colours, the textures - makes me feel instantly calm. — It's seldom boring and seldom quiet here. At one end there's all the ladies I work with and at the other there's a large table where we design the clothes. I don't call them my "team", because it's very much a democracy. Mostly the atmosphere is jolly, although occasionally it gets a bit fractious when things aren't going our way. No one's perfect. Not having an office was a deliberate choice - I can be away from a desk and be in a creative space. I try not to have my phone with me at all, but I can't say that always happens. — Work is my hobby and one of the things I love in life. When you get into the zone, it's a little bit like playing sport: you get quite intensely into it and time flies by. That's why I know the studio is a good place, because the day goes really quickly. There's always something new for me to look at, and discussions to be had around garments, trims and piecing together the collection. It's my desert island in the city. •

As told to HAYLEY MYERS • Portrait AMANDA FORDYCE

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HOME & AWAY

In Suffolk, a villa filled with a collector’s treasures

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HOME & AWAY

The antique dealer Benjamin Smith, 42, has a stock rejoinder for anyone who delves into the specifics of his business, School for Scandal (@theschoolforscandal). “I tell them I buy and sell weird shit,” he says. Smith’s Suffolk home – a lateral apartment stretching across a pair of Victorian villas in the coastal town of Lowestoft – tells another, far richer story. Built in the 1860s for well-heeled railway-owning families by the entrepreneur and engineer Samuel Peto, and converted into flats in 1982, its seaside grandeur is really just a repository for Smith’s insatiable collecting. What he calls “the habit” has spiralled over the years to cover every inch of the generously proportioned Aladdin’s-cave interior he shares with his partner, Hayley Miller, 42, their children, Albert, seven, and Peggy, six – and sausage dog, Reggie.

Words AIMEE FARRELL • Photographs JASPER FRY

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HOME & AWAY

What began with rescuing antiquarian books from Norwich skips and a fascination with 20th-century medical paraphernalia (everything from dentist chairs to laboratory cabinets), had evolved by 2012 into a full-scale London business. “As things sold, I’d need to replace them, and then something else would spark my interest,” says Smith, who studied fine art at the Chelsea School of Art before embarking on a fleeting career as a professional arbitrage gambler (the proceeds of which fuelled the collecting).

The couple returned to their Suffolk roots in 2017, originally taking over a single one-bed flat in the building (before gradually acquiring and amalgamating two more). They began stripping back the interior, installing reclaimed period fireplaces and cast-iron Victorian radiators throughout and restoring the huge sash windows, original pine floorboards and rich plasterwork cornicing (in the kitchen, the floral and acanthus leaf motif has a stately feel). It was these period details that first wooed them. “When we came to have a look, we were so in awe of the building we didn’t even notice it had no ceiling lights,” says Miller.

It was only when Miller became pregnant with their second child in 2020 that they found themselves craving more space. Smith tenaciously tracked down the owner of the adjacent flat, which had been squatted for the last 15 years, and made an offer. It was accepted even before they knew whether or not they could knock through. Smith then single-handedly emptied 40-tons of rubbish from the interior, left behind by the previous inhabitant. “It was a sea of Nesquik chocolate milk cartons,” he says.

Not that you’d know. The now three-bedroom space is accessed from the east side into a slim, lofty-ceilinged hallway that’s painted in Dutch orange. To enter is to be assailed by a riot of objects that stretches from an old tavern clock to a giant leather Balmoral boot (an early 20th-century showcase of a cobbler’s dexterity) to a collection of servant bells that harks back to the house’s more illustrious beginnings. Above the door into the neighbouring kitchen looms an enormous taxidermy Holstein stud bull head.

No surface is safe from Smith’s arrangements. Even the tops of door frames become a stage for shells and geological specimens. Every object is a living history lesson: in the sitting room, just off the kitchen, a giant

Cabinetry of Smith’s own design was brought to life by his uncle; cast-iron columns support the Doulton & Co butler’s sink

hatchment – a colourful canvas coat-of-arms created to denote the death of nobility, in this case, Sir Henry Oglander – hangs above a hand-block-printed linen Howard & Sons-style sofa (one of only a handful of new items in the house). The nearby chimney breast is home to an expansive Victorian shell collection, and the large bay windows are hung with 19th-century crewelwork curtains from a country house estate sale. Altogether, it’s a glorious frenzy.

Smith is never not tinkering. Whenever a new object comes into his possession, the family will return to find everything rearranged. “That’s a whole day lost,” he says. Lately, he’s been finishing off the family kitchen (the bathroom is next). The room’s most recent addition is a collection of fruit and vegetable signage from an old stately home’s potager garden – which he’s strung from the ceiling.

The kitchen was designed around the vast pine Gothic-revival table, which Smith acquired from another dealer in exchange for a pair of paintings. “We had to get it in through the window,” he says. It’s currently occupied by a carved giltwood bicycle in the form of a seahorse (of course). “It comes from the Sutro Baths,” says Smith of the fantastical San Francisco public baths fleetingly brought to life in the 1890s by the politician and →

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HOME & AWAY

The windowsill in a former entry hall holds a pair of crystallographic models. In the sitting room, crewelwork curtains are offset by a bust of Apollo, an Art Nouveau Emile Galle mushroom lamp and an Oushak rug

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HOME & AWAY

Smith epitomises a type of maximalist English eccentricity. 'It's my creative outlet,' he says

engineer Adolph Sutro. "The filmmaker George Lucas owns one of the other remaining nine."

The room has quickly become the family's social hub. At night, it's bathed in the milky glow of a procession of Edwardian pendant lights by the Jefferson Glass Company. Its reinvention has been an incremental, familial affair. All the cabinetry was handmade by Smith's uncle, James Cooper, over a number of years. "I'd go to him with my drawings and measurements, we'd pick up four lengths of timber at the yard, and he'd go off and experiment, one cabinet at a time," he says.

The space's quirkiest feature is the pair of terracotta-hued cast-iron columns that support the decorative Doulton & Co butler's sink. With the columns weighing in at around 500kg each, metal plates had to be installed in the floor to support their heft. "It required a bit of civil engineering," he says. More than an eclectic family home, the space provides a photogenic

In the bedroom, a four poster from And So To Bed; the fireplace was picked up at auction from a Scottish Estate

backdrop for Smith's rolling antique stock – and serves as a by-appointment showroom for clients. Visitors include film production companies (one knackered leather club chair wound up in Harry Potter), big London dealers and the archivists at the Houses of Parliament, who bought back a lime wood gesso and gilt ceiling detail that originally came from the House of Lords.

Perennially drawn to the surreal and peculiar, Smith traces his unconventional aesthetic to his fine-art background and a lifelong fascination with what he calls, "odd English collectors". Smith, too, epitomises a certain type of maximalist English eccentricity. "It's my creative outlet," he says, seated beneath the living room's dark green ceiling, where – inspired by the German wunderkammer ("wonder rooms") of the 16th century – a pair of taxidermy crocodiles dwell. "This is what it feels like in my head – and I never want to leave." ●

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HOME & AWAY

CASA BONAVITA

Hidden entirely from the street, this 17-bedroom hotel has been a labour of love. Almost everything has been crafted by local carpenters and stonemasons, with handpainted tiles, bespoke de Gournay wallpaper and sunny scalloped umbrellas shading the pool. A maximalist Mediterranean guesthouse.

THE VILLA BOLOGNA RESTAURANT

Run by Sophie and Rowley Edwards, this is a little trattoria in the gardens of Villa Bologna. On the menu are pretty plates of courgette carpaccio with ricotta, and roasted seabass with fennel and orange, all served on their pottery's bright, handpainted crockery. Guests can book the bright-blue tennis court for a pre-lunch match.

In the Neighbourhood

ATTARD

Malta

Tucked away from the island's busiest spots, Attard is one of Malta's historic Three Villages. This year, the opening of Casa Bonavita has put its quiet lanes and limestone palazzos more firmly on the map. Suzanne and Christopher Sharp, founders of the Rug Company, are behind it - she was born on the island, and the couple have spent the last five years transforming an 18th-century palazzo into a small hotel. On an island with more than 300 sunny days a year, this is where to spend them. • TABITHA JOYCE

SAN ANTON PALACE GARDENS

These immaculate 17th-century gardens surround the official residence of Malta's president. Traditionally, visiting heads of state planted a tree, creating an extraordinary collection that ranges from towering Norfolk Island pines to jacarandas and ancient olive trees.

CORINTHIA PALACE

This is the original Corinthia hotel, built around a neoclassical limestone villa just opposite the San Anton Gardens. There's lots of marble and a huge outdoor pool, but whether you're staying or not, its Secret Garden restaurant is a great spot for a watermelon, black olive and Gbejna cheese salad.

THE THREE VILLAGES WALK

Kick off with an espresso at Saracino's Trattoria in Attard, stroll through Balzan's narrow winding streets to Lija's sandy Baroque parish church, then finish with an aperitif at Grasshopper, a lively village bar.

VILLA BOLOGNA POTTERY

Sophie Edwards and her husband, Rowley, have also taken on this pottery, which still uses the same techniques as when it opened in 1924. The shop is filled with fish-shaped jugs as well as playful piggy banks and soap dishes.

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HOME & AWAY

CHARLOTTE MENDELSON

INTO THE WILD

‘Who wants to visit a zoo? Not me.

But my animal-loving girlfriend is impossible to buy gifts for’

It was to be an act of love. Who wants, in adulthood, to visit a zoo? Not me: the concrete, the sorrow. Even in childhood, the clenching excitement I remember whenever we visited our local Cotswold Wildlife Park was exclusively for the gift shop and its range of lightly furred celluloid pandas.

But my animal-loving girlfriend is impossible to buy gifts for; when I heard of the one-day Keeper Experience at, guess where, Cotswold Wildlife Park, I signed her up. Sadly, her ticket admitted me too. The sample itinerary’s “Large Mammals (including Giraffe)” was noticeably vague; we were headed for a disappointing day of chucking lettuce at meerkats. Ho-hum; love is love. Teeth gritted lightly, I followed her to Activity 1: The Farm.

Which was... fine. Guinea pigs chirruping, donkeys and – shudder – a small room, wherein dozens of rats excitedly swarmed over each other when the keeper and, yes, my girlfriend entered with food. I distracted myself with the wonderful planting: cottage garden meets dramatic tropicalia. Meanwhile, my girlfriend was hugging a goat. Only seven hours to go.

Next, rhinos. The mothers and their mighty infants were protected from us, or vice versa, by a shallow ha-ha; they were large, grey and chiefly interesting because their collective noun is a “crash”. It was only when we met Monty, their manly forebear, in his private lodgings that the glory of rhinoceri began to dawn. Monty, 3.5 tonnes, is classed as dangerous, but only because he’s so unaware of his size; we stroked his horn and muddy ears, amazed by his gentleness.

Frankly, Monty would have been enough. But then we chucked sprats at penguins (bit scary: a hundred visitors were watching); were mobbed by lemurs – affectionate Jellycats that relax, loins akimbo, wrapped in their own striped tails; hugged tapirs’ dusty flanks and scratched their modest mohicans. The gentle intimacy of feeding immense wild beasts was stunning: the giraffes, bending their bumpy faces to strip sycamore leaves; the giant tortoises, whose approach we controlled with carrot chunks, like steering a 1984 Volvo 240 estate very slowly through a 176-point turn. Each cross-species interaction was so thrilling that it was almost a relief to miss the sloth (“hiding”),

the Brazilian blond tarantula, the Siamangs. I almost skipped the fruitbats. Well, I tried; have you seen my hair? But I was charmed: by their hot, dark home, the tiniest bats flitting like hummingbirds to munch banana from our very hands. And now I love bats, too – it’s that simple. Although not as much as I love Monty.

Or the keepers. Their pride and knowledge was so moving. The casual familiarity with their charges was delightful, like gossiping with teachers: lemurs (“dim but pretty”); otters (“totally savage”); rhinos do poos like piles of cannonballs; wombats produce cubes; sloths excrete weekly; others create neat latrines or

“go all over the shop”. So much of the job is mundane: mucking out, chopping corn cobs, minor crises over walkie-talkies (crackle crackle “A CHILD HAS WEED ON THE SLIDE”). Then they’d say something like: “Used to work with a pufferfish, yay-big, who recognised me,” or “Pink Mauritian pigeon egg – fixed it with nail varnish.” Or, upsettingly, confess how human behaviour has declined: climbing into enclosures, feeding giraffes weeds, despite clear signage.

For extra thrills, we traipsed through offices where we saw whiteboards listing penguin couples (Dam CUSTARD/ Sire WINSTON/ Egg 1 v; HEATHER + CHESTER/fostering); laminated diet sheets; pegs of hooded poles for catching mammals;

a Giraffe Faecal Scoring Chart (2023, but presumably still current). I searched the gift shop for them, but in vain.

Exhausted, euphoric, we staggered home, and haven’t stopped discussing the tapirs’ modest trunklets, the trusting friendliness of Monty, ever since. At last, I’d managed to buy my girlfriend something she actually wanted; also, accidentally, myself. What a privilege, to come face to face with so many rare species. “If you had to choose,” I asked her, “which was the most amazing?” She didn’t even pause to think. “The rats.” •

Charlotte Mendelson is an Observer columnist, a novelist and a keen-if-not-expert gardener

ALAMY

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Cravings

Lunch under the sun

KITCHEN DIARY NIGEL SLATER

These high summer days, the oven is on only briefly – just long enough to bake a piece of fish with herb butter or to roast a chicken, its skin stuffed with seasoned butter, for eating cold. Last week I wrapped pieces of firm, white monkfish fillet with a rosemary butter and slices of parma ham from the deli and threw in a few potatoes to sit alongside. It was a dish that smelled of deepest summer, of herbs baking in the heat and which we ate outside. Although it came sizzling from the oven, this was one of those →

Portrait CHARLIE CLIFT

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CRAVINGS

dishes that is just as good warm as hot, the sort of recipe that seems to sit comfortably with summer eating. There were also black-skinned tomatoes sliced thickly and dressed with a thick basil vinaigrette. We used them to mop our plates in place of the usual bread. The bread we had was sliced into rounds instead, brushed with olive oil, then grilled until crisp. Spread with a mixture of crushed black olives and anchovies, we ate it before the fish.

If the oven is on anyway, I will throw in a roasting tin of potatoes, cut small so they cook quickly, tossed in olive oil and a smudge of some puréed garlic or perhaps a sprinkling of chopped thyme or long sprigs of rosemary. If you have it, summer savory can be good at this point, too.

Most of the week's desserts have involved fruit. Cherries, halved and stoned, then left to sit in glasses of red wine; blackberries warmed with a sprinkling of sugar and a dash of crème de cassis for tipping over vanilla ice-cream; apricots, halved and grilled with honey to the point of collapse. This is the occasion to get out the bottle of orange-blossom water, too, just enough to add a hint of the flower, which is inevitably less than you might think.

I have also been making sweet sauces for strawberries by crushing raspberries to a purée with a fork, then folding through a little finely shredded mint and a splash of lemon juice. It is a good addition to an ice-cream sundae.

Twice this week, lunch was little more than bread and cheese. The first with goat's milk cheeses, apricots and tart green grapes, and another day with feta, which I mashed with dried thyme, olive oil and a grating of garlic, then spread in thick waves on to slices of toasted baguette. Lazy, deeply savoury lunches for the hottest of afternoons. We needed only some fruit to finish.

A perennial dessert in the house, almost exclusively when it is too hot to bake, is melon marinated in fruit cordial and soft herbs. I usually use elderflower, for its tomcatty muscat notes, but you can also use blackcurrant cordial topped up with fizzy water. Such endings to lunch stand or fall by the temperature at which they are served. Nothing less than deeply chilled works. If time is short, toss in a few ice cubes at the last minute.

Monkfish with parma ham and rosemary butter

Serves 3. Ready in 1 hour potatoes 600g olive oil 3 tbsp butter 60g rosemary leaves 2 tbsp monkfish fillets 2 x 300g parma ham 6 large, thin slices

Bring a medium-sized pan of water to the boil and salt it lightly. Peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces, a little smaller than you usually would for roast potatoes, then add them to the boiling water. Let them cook for 12-15 minutes until they take the point of a metal skewer with little resistance.

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Photographs JONATHAN LOVEKIN

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CRAVINGS

‘A perennial dessert in this house, when it is too hot to bake, is melon marinated in fruit cordial’

Marinated melon with elderflower and herbs

Lightly crushing the various herb leaves in your hand releases their oils into the marinade. The syrup should be thoroughly chilled.

Serves 4. Ready in 30 minutes, plus chilling time elderflower cordial 50ml mineral water 750ml, chilled mint 6 bushy sprigs basil leaves 12, large lemon verbena (optional but wonderful) cantaloupe melon 1 (750g) watermelon 750g

Pour the elderflower cordial into a jug, pour in the mineral water and stir thoroughly. Wash the mint sprigs, then put them in a deep bowl, lightly crushing the leaves in your hand as you go, to release the fragrance. Do the same with the basil and, if you are using it, the lemon verbena. Pour the elderflower drink over the herbs and stir.

Cut the cantaloupe melon from its skin then cut the flesh into spoon-sized pieces, removing any seeds as you go, then add to the elderflower marinade. Repeat with the watermelon. Set aside for 2 hours in the fridge until thoroughly chilled.

Serve the melon in glasses or bowls, then strain the elderflower syrup over the fruit. ●

Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a roasting tin or baking dish, leaving enough room for the fish to go in later. Trickle a little olive oil over them and roast for 25 minutes.

Bring the butter to room temperature. Finely chop the rosemary leaves and mash them into the butter with a little salt and black pepper.

Cut the monkfish fillets into short, thick pieces (about 3 pieces from each fillet). Warm the rosemary butter in a shallow pan. As it starts to froth, place the pieces of monkfish into the pan and let them colour briefly. Turn and cook for a further minute or two

then remove from the heat.

Place a slice of ham on the work surface. Put a piece of monkfish on top and roll the ham around it, then place it in a baking dish or roasting tin. Continue with the remaining slices of ham and pieces of monkfish.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and toss them around a little in the oil. Push them to the edges of the dish to make room for the fish. Tuck the parcels of monkfish into the roasting dish. Pour the remaining butter over the top and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serve 2 pieces of fish for each diner and some of the potatoes.

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CRAVINGS

FOOD STYLING BY EMMA CANTLAY, PROF STYLING BY LOUIS WALLER

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CRAVINGS

GEORGINA HAYDEN

With a cherry on top

Summer has always arrived in my kitchen with a cake. With my immediate family's birthdays falling between late spring and early autumn, the season is marked as much by the layers of a sponge as it is by long evenings and the arrival of berries. Every year brings a new cake tailored to its recipient: a favourite flavour and colour scheme, themed around whatever obsession the littlest ones have at the time.

When I was growing up, my mum made almost all our birthday cakes, and I can still picture them. A cottage draped in marbled fondant, decorated with tiny piped pink roses. A grey record player topped with a coiled liquorice LP. Her American-style baked cheesecake, piled high with summer berries. Magical and always filled with love. Now the baton has been passed to me, and making cakes for the people I love has become one of my greatest pleasures, and one by which I measure the season.

There have been triumphs: seasonal takes on tres leches cake, a Tunnocks caramel wafer-inspired chocolate cake and a towering berry and ricotta layer cake that I still think about fondly. There have also been those less triumphant, most recently a vanilla and cherry sponge iced to resemble a climbing wall, which, while delicious, looked decidedly less impressive than it had in my imagination. But summer baking is rarely about perfection. It is about generosity, abundance and celebrations: the soft fruits that stain your fingers, cakes carefully carried into gardens while guarding the flames on billowing candles, and the particular joy of gathering people around a table while the days are long.

Cherry and almond cake

In our house, summer means ice-cream in the freezer, with each family member claiming a corner for their favourite flavour. My husband's has always been amarena: fior di latte gelato rippled with syrupy cherries. With his birthday falling in the peak of cherry season, this is my celebration of him. Soft layers of sponge, pillowy vanilla cream and cherries capture the pleasure of an Italian gelateria in cake form.

Serves 12-16. Takes 2 hours, plus cooling time

butter for the tins ground almonds 200g plain flour 100g baking powder 1 tsp fine sea salt ¼ tsp large eggs 6, separated caster sugar 200g almond extract ½ tsp (optional) cream cheese 500g icing sugar 250g, plus extra for dusting vanilla paste 1 tsp double cream 400ml amarena cherries 6 tbsp fresh cherries 100g, for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Grease and line the base of two 20cm cake tins. Whisk together the ground almonds, plain flour, baking powder and sea salt in a bowl and set aside. Separate the eggs and place the whites

in the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Whisk into stiff peaks, then slowly spoon in the sugar with the motor still running. Add the almond extract and whisk for 3 more minutes until you have a glossy, smooth meringue.

One by one, beat in the egg yolks. When they are fully combined, fold in the almond and flour mixture. Fold it all in with a metal spoon, so you have a light batter. Pour it into the prepared cake and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then release from the tins and transfer the cakes to a cooling rack. When the cakes have completely cooled, slice them evenly in half horizontally.

Drain any liquid from the cream cheese, then spoon into the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Using the beater attachment, beat with the icing sugar for a few minutes, until creamy, rich and smooth. Switch to the whisk attachment and add the vanilla and double cream, and whisk for a minute or so, until you have a light and pillowy cream. Watch it carefully so it doesn't over-whip.

Place your base sponge on a serving board or cake stand and top with a quarter of the cream mixture. Dot and tear over 2 tbsp of the amarena cherries (a little syrup is fine, but too much will make the cakes harder to stack). Top with a second sponge. Repeat; then with a third and repeat again, using the last of the cherries. Top with the final sponge layer and decorate the top how you like with the remaining cream and fresh cherries. Sift over a little icing sugar – and a drizzle of the amarena syrup, if you like. →

'Making cakes for the people I love is one of my greatest pleasures'

Photographs LAURA EDWARDS

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CRAVINGS

Raspberry elderflower kok

Kok is the first thing I order in any bakery when I land in my motherland, Cyprus. A delicate sponge, gently brushed with syrup to keep it tender, filled with smooth set custard with a glossy chocolate ganache top. These are usually single-portioned treats, but here I've made it into my dream party cake, with some favourite seasonal flavours. It's a taste of Cyprus, reimagined for the long, bright days of summer.

Serves 12. Takes 90 minutes, plus cooling time butter for the tins plain flour 100g, plus extra for dusting cornflour 100g large eggs 5, plus 3 egg yolks fine sea salt ¼ tsp caster sugar 275g vanilla extract 2 tsp elderflower cordial 8 tbsp whole milk 300ml double cream 275ml white chocolate 150g raspberries 150g

Grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin with butter, then dust with flour so it is completely covered. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Whisk together the plain flour and 50g of the cornflour and set aside. Separate the 5 eggs and place the whites in the bowl of a free-standing mixer with the sea salt. Whisk until stiff peaks form, then, with the mixer still running, slowly spoon in 150g of the caster sugar. Add 1 tsp of the vanilla and whisk for 3 minutes, until you have a glossy smooth meringue.

Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Once fully combined, sift in the flour mixture. Fold it all in with a metal spoon until you have a light batter. Pour into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Wash the tin and line it with 2 long pieces of clingfilm, crossed over with the excess hanging out. When the cake is cool, cut it in half horizontally and place the base back in the tin, cut-side up. Brush with half of the elderflower cordial then leave to one side.

In a large saucepan, whisk the milk, 200ml of the cream, 75g caster sugar and the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla. Warm over a medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the extra 3 egg yolks, the remaining 50g of caster sugar and 50g of cornflour until smooth. Ladle in some of the hot milk mixture and whisk to combine, then pour into the pan. Cook over a medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until you have a smooth, creamy yet thick custard.

As soon as it is ready, pour it over the sponge in the tin. Brush the cut side of the remaining sponge with the remaining elderflower cordial and place on top of the custard, cut-side down. Wrap the overhanging clingfilm over the cake, leave it to cool, then place the tin in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

When ready to serve, chop the white chocolate into small pieces. Place in a bowl with the remaining 75ml of cream and microwave for just long enough to heat the cream and melt the white chocolate. Stir together until smooth. Leave it to cool and thicken a little. Release the cake from the tin and remove the clingfilm – it might be easiest to invert it/ flip it straight on to a cake stand. Spoon over the white chocolate, top with the raspberries, then serve.

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CRAVINGS

Chocolate courgette cake

A good chocolate traybake is the sort of recipe that everyone should have tucked away: simple enough to make without much thought and always guaranteed to disappear very quickly. In this recipe, grated courgette lends the sponge a tender, fudgy texture. It's quite like a chocolate version of a classic carrot cake. It is also unfussy – everything is simply whisked together, baked and finished with a few generous swoops of chocolate buttercream and sprinkles if you fancy.

Serves 16. Takes 1 hour, plus cooling time

unsalted butter 200g, plus extra

for the tin

cocoa 50g

olive oil 150ml

buttermilk 120ml

light soft brown sugar 180g

large eggs 4

vanilla extract 1 tsp

courgettes 2 large, around 350g

plain flour 150g

rye flour 125g

ground cardamom ½ tsp (optional)

bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp

baking powder 1½ tsp

fine sea salt ½ tsp, plus a pinch

dark chocolate 200g, 70% cocoa solids,

finely chopped

icing sugar 250g

sprinkles to decorate (optional)

Preheat your oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm roasting tin with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl, mix the cocoa with 6 tbsp of just-boiled water until smooth. Whisk in the olive oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Trim the courgettes, coarsely grate and stir in also.

In a separate bowl, whisk together both flours, cardamom, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. Fold it into the wet ingredients. Stir in 50g of the chopped chocolate and pour the batter into the lined tray. Pop in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely.

To make the chocolate buttercream, melt the remaining 150g of chopped dark chocolate in a microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. When it has just melted, remove from the heat or microwave

and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Place the room-temperature butter in the bowl of a free-standing mixer fitted with a beater attachment. Beat for a few minutes until creamy and smooth then sift in the icing sugar and add a pinch of sea salt. Beat for 3-4 minutes until very pale and smooth. Pour in the cooled, molten chocolate and beat for a further 1-2 minutes. You should have a pillowy chocolate buttercream. Spoon and evenly spread the buttercream on top of your cooled cake and finish however you like – I love rainbow sprinkles. ●

'It's simple enough to make and it's guaranteed to disappear quickly'

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CRAVINGS

Aktar Islam is responsible for one of the best meals of my life. It was not at Kush, the chef’s new Bristol spot, but at Opheem, the mothership in Birmingham, for which Islam deservedly holds two Michelin stars. I went to Opheem a few weeks ago for a birthday, and it was astonishing, still, some eight years after it first opened. It was not just the fireworks of the Indian-inspired fine dining that made it such a treat (a crab-topped, curry-butter-soaked mini-crumpet will live in my mind for ever)...

RESTAURANTS REBECCA NICHOLSON

Kush 12-16 Clifton Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1AF (kushbristol.co.uk). Two courses £25, three courses £30, four courses £35, wines from £28, cocktails from £12

...but the fact that it was such a joyful night out. The fanciest of fancy dining can be arid and uptight. Opheem is expertly convivial and endlessly special.

Islam has had a busy year. In May, he opened London’s Oudh 1722, a high-concept restaurant based on historic Awadhi cuisine, blending Mughal, Persian and central Asian influences. Kush was announced in 2025 but, after some delays, it arrived in the Clifton area in June this year. In one interview, Islam described the idea as “a traditional Indian restaurant, but with a lighter and fresher approach”. The Kush website is dense with graffiti motifs and punchy manifestos. It promises dishes that would have been eaten by emperors and dishes that are scoffed from paper plates on street corners.

Perhaps going to Kush so soon after visiting Opheem is unfair, like watching The Odyssey at the Imax and then expecting a BBC radio play of it to deliver the same thrills. But any chance to eat Islam’s food, fine or otherwise, at what is a very reasonable price – from two courses for £25 to four for £35 – should be snapped up. The food itself is, for the most part, very good: big-bodied, full-flavoured, not at all prissy, the sort of indulgent feast that will make you daydream of opening a trouser button or two on the way home.

On a warm summer Friday night, when the sizeable L-shaped room was gently busy but not heaving, we went for the full four courses, with both sides added on. The server, the first of a handful, seemed confused. “Sorry, which side?” she asked, as if not quite understanding. Both, I repeated, with a confidence that would turn out to be arrogance.

Her uncertainty made more sense when the food started to arrive. It was a lot. The people on the table next to us picked at their plates and talked about being on Mounjaro. We looked like we were protesting the very existence of Mounjaro. The snacks turned up promptly: chargrilled soya tikka chunks, drizzled with a sticky sweet sauce and a fiery, lovely, mint and pineapple chutney, and fish Amritsari, cubes of white fish fried in a lightly spiced gram-flour batter. When another server brought them over, she said the fish was the soya and vice versa. The dishes look similar, and nobody was a vegetarian, so it was fine, but it did suggest a service that was not quite under control.

The starters and mains followed just as quickly. It felt as if we could be in and out in an

44

Photograph ADRIAN SHERRATT

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CRAVINGS

WINE

DAVID WILLIAMS

hour. Down the hill there was a nice pub, and I made plans to nip there for a nightcap. We had the samosa chaat (not very crisp but nice and yoghurty) and liver fry with uthappam, the strongest dish of the night – in every sense. Light, bubbly fermented rice cakes, flecked with gems of tomato and red onion, were there to mop up a pile of soft chicken livers soaked in a mighty, oily, chilli-fuelled tomato-based curry. “This feels so grownup,” I whispered to my partner, impressed by how brassy it was.

That slap of flavours got me excited for the mains, which came with barely a pause for breath. Yet another server cleared the table and looked puzzled, trying to conjure up enough space for it all. I had the Mangalorean prawn curry, a Karnataka dish, for a £7 supplement. But four lonely battered king prawns swam in a bowl of slightly acrid tomato and coconut sauce; from the high of the liver fry, this was the only real disappointment.

The Kadai paneer was much better, its vividly spiced lumps of cheese and pepper delivering a proper veggie hit. I had no regrets about the sides: a creamy, slow-cooked black bean dal makhani and a bright green, garlicky spinach and sweetcorn palak, which I would have eaten as mains in their own right. I thought of my buttons. I would be opening at least three.

Then the plates sat uncleared for an age. We were asked if we were ready for dessert. We were, but 40 minutes later, there was still no sign. Could we wait another five minutes, we were asked? We waited 10. Both the kulfi falooda and gulab jamun cheesecake are cold desserts, presumably assembly-line jobs, and nice enough – particularly the ultra-sweet condensed-milk dumplings on the side of the cheesecake – but they ended the meal with a slow, impassive shrug.

We asked them to box up our leftovers and we enjoyed an Aktar Islam-branded lunch at home the next day. We talked about whether this was the first of a few Kushes, whether Islam was testing the waters for a mini-chain. This is pure speculation, but it felt a bit like it. As it is, it is early days. Our issues may have been teething troubles. But Bristol is not short of excellent restaurants, and clearly Kush is still finding its feet. There are enough hints in the food, however, to suggest that, if it settles down and takes a breath, this could be a welcome addition to the city – and possibly others. ●

Out of the box

To me it’s one of the all-time great sounds, as welcoming, as promising, as outright joyful as birdsong, leather on willow or the first few thrillingly raw thwacks and thuds of Ringo’s drum on the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows: the echoing, xylophone-like pop of a cork, that timeless signal of fun and pleasure to come.

It’s not just the sound. For me, pulling the cork, with a trusty, simple waiter’s friend cork-screw, is such an integral part of the ritual of wine-drinking, it’s never quite the same without it. It’s a Pavlovian thing, deeply ingrained and largely, I think, benign. The one downside, for someone who likes to think of themselves as progressive, open-minded and generally pretty good at accepting or even embracing change, is that my love of the cork-pop, and the glass bottle that goes with it, has made me mighty conservative when it comes to any other form of wine packaging. No matter how good the wine, if it’s come from a box or a can, at some level I always feel like it’s not really wine.

I doubt I’m alone in that feeling, and there’s a pretty good reason for that. Put simply, for many years the quality of wine offered up in anything other than a bottle was rarely all that good. Even today, you’re not going to get the very best wines in anything other than glass, since the best wines always come with the promise of improving with age (even if they do end up being drunk immediately), and the lifespan of a bag-in-box, a plastic bottle, a pouch or a can

is around 12 months. A bottle’s best-before date – provided the wine inside is cut out for ageing, and it’s stored in the right cool, dry, damp, stable conditions – can be measured in decades.

The thing is, though, most wines these days are not sold to age gracefully in the cellar of a country house; most are consumed within a week of purchase, and many much sooner than that. And when it comes to convenience, even this bottle-lover (phial-phile?) would have to concede that its rivals have some considerable advantages. A can wins over a bottle for picnic or summer-evening-in-the-park sipping every time. And a bag-in-box or pouch is way better than a bottle at keeping wine fresh once it’s opened: provided it’s in the fridge, we’re talking six weeks for the box/pouch versus a week or so for a bottle.

Given all these advantages, it’s no surprise producers have been upping the quality of the wine they put in boxes, pouches and cans, to the point that it’s possible to get some decent stuff without bothering the bottle bank. For cans, options are largely confined to the “pretty good, easy drinking” rather than anything truly outstanding, and prices per ml can be pretty steep versus a full-bottle equivalent. But I’d be very happy stashing a couple of cans of any of Mirabeau Prêt-a-Porter Rosé (£4, 25cl, Waitrose); When in Rome Pecorino dry white (£3.50, 187ml, Ocado), or Celliers des Dauphins Côtes du Rhône Réserve red (£3.50, 20cl, Waitrose) into my festival backpack.

For bag-in-box, meanwhile, prices are more aligned with bottles, and the range is much broader, with the three-litre (equivalent to four bottles) version of the reliably excellent lemony southern French seafood partner Domaine Félines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2025 (£39, the Wine Society), the spicy-tangy orchard fruits of Domaine de la Mongestine Emergency Juice Orange 2025 from Provence (£44, 3 litres, Gnarly Vines) and the succulent blueberries and cherries of M&S Classics Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina (£17, 1.5 litres, Ocado; Marks & Spencer) all competing on flavour even if, for me, they will never win on glamour. ●

Wine of the Week Domaine Félines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2025, £39, the Wine Society

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What's On My Mind

ERICA WAGNER

The American author and critic lives in London and is the author of several acclaimed books, the most recent of which is Wash

Anxiety about AI: 36%

Yet more work to be done on my house. Complicated stuff involving wiring, and all a little more urgent than I thought it would be. Best get moving. But how to figure out what needs doing first? When to remove books from the shelves/visit the charity shop/clear out the cupboard under the stairs/liaise with the electrician? Now, I am given to understand that this is what an innovative new service known as "AI" is especially good at. "ChatGPT, old man," you say, "rustle me up a running order of how to sort my house" – and hey presto, by Jove and by jiminy, you've got your little list! Coo-er, what a wonder. Perhaps you can guess what my attitude is to trying this. That it's even crossed my mind feels like... being tempted by Satan. Any cognitive task has something to teach you. We give them up – any of them – at our peril.

Coming to terms with the climate crisis: 19%

Why do I live in Britain? In no small part because when I came here as a kid from New York City in the summer, it was cool and damp. I walked with my parents on the broad, shimmering beaches of Northumberland – all of us wearing parkas. Well, the joke's on me, huh? Or rather: the joke's on all of us as the climate crisis crisps our farms, closes our schools, buckles our train tracks. Why do commentators keep on using the word "heatwave"? This is the weather now. And yet some folks keep on with the "drill, baby, drill". Go figure.

Falling in love with sardines: 6%

Small delights are worth attending to: and so to the topic of the humble sardine. I always thought I hated 'em. I was a tuna gal, through and through. And yet, suddenly: I crave them, I love them. A warm toasted ciabatta roll, good butter, sardines, a squeeze of lemon, black pepper. Bliss. Never too late.

Donald Trump: 15%

Sorry, I know. You probably don't want to see those two words either. But if we're talking about taking-up-headspace, I cannot avoid my resentment of just how much of my mental real estate the 45/47th US president is occupying. What's next? Oh, no. Over and over and over again... which leads us to:

War, here we go again: 14%

I'm just back from over the border, where I had a chance to see Scotland's First Warriors, a small but perfectly formed exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh. Its sequence of objects (accentuated by spellbinding paintings by Scottish artist Alan McGowan) consider the origins and impact of conflict in prehistoric Scotland. Or rather, as curator Dr Matthew Knight said to me: when did a bunch of people randomly bashing each other over the head become something more organised and deliberate? One of the items on display is a Bronze Age sword, found perfectly preserved in a crack in a rock by a gamekeeper near Inverbroom, south of Ullapool, in 1896. It is arrestingly beautiful. I used to be a fencer, and I have never forgotten what it feels like to hold a weapon – even one with a blunted tip – in your hand. A spear or a bow and arrow or a knife can be used for hunting: once you start making swords, you've got only one object in mind, and that's killing other people. As the quagmire in Iran gets even more sticky and even more deadly, here we go again. This is what we humans do.

The Odyssey on the biggest screen: 10%

Where else can you see a handsome Bronze Age sword? Why, in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, of course. Yes, I scored a ticket to see it in Imax 70mm and, well, I wish I'd had a better time. To say the film is joyless hardly begins to cover it; here is Odysseus not as wily trickster but as penitent gloomy-guts. It's interesting that in the many movies whose object it is to get Matt Damon home (Saving Private Ryan, Interstellar, The Martian and now The Odyssey), his character is never a leader, but a solo act. What was it about Odysseus that could persuade men to follow him to doom's edge? You will be none the wiser from Nolan's lugubrious telling. And yet: this is a movie everyone is talking about. The theatre was packed. Cinema isn't dead, and we must be grateful for that.

If you've wondered why it was so hard to get tickets in an Imax cinema, and why there are so few 70mm Imax theatres, the answer is that – just like that sword – Imax is, in a sense, an ancient technology: no new projectors have been made in half a century, according to company CEO Richard Gelfond and no more are likely to be made again. The Bronze Age, the Imax Age, all shall pass away. ●

46

Illustration ALMA HASER

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The Observer Sport

Arc de triomphe

The rapid ascent of the Tour de France Femmes

THE OBSERVER 09.08.26

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

This week

Reporting by George Simms

The week in brief

Former Wolves 'keeper Parkes dies at 79

Legendary Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Phil Parkes has died aged 79. Parkes played for Wolves between 1960 and 1978 after joining as a schoolboy, making 382 appearances and helping the team reach the 1972 Uefa Cup final, where they lost to Tottenham. He then spent eight years playing in North America for Vancouver Whitecaps, Chicago Sting, San Jose Earthquakes, Oklahoma City Slickers and Toronto Blizzard before retiring in 1983. He was inducted into the Wolves hall of fame in 2023. "The thoughts and prayers are with Lofty's loved ones at this sad time," the club said in a statement.

Sullivan ignores advice to attend Hammers victory

West Ham owner David Sullivan ignored advice to stay away from London Stadium as he watched the Hammers beat Portsmouth 3-1 in the first round of the Carabao Cup. Sullivan resigned from his co-chairman role in June after seven women accused him of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, allegations he strongly denies, but he retains a 38.8% stake in the club. A spokesperson for London Stadium recommended the 77-year-old former porn baron does not attend games due to concerns over fan unrest. Elsewhere Leicester beat Northampton Town 1-0 in their first competitive match under Russell Martin, while Burnley needed penalties to edge past Notts County, and Birmingham beat Swansea.

143

Jack Draper's world ranking after withdrawing from Montreal Masters

Arsenal sign Guimarães as Salah moves to Turkey

Arsenal have signed Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle for a reported £75m after the Brazilian pushed to leave the North East. Guimarães, 28, has signed a four-year deal and his departure means Newcastle have lost their head coach and two of their three starting midfielders in recent weeks, with Joelinton also linked with an exit. Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah has joined Trabzonspor on a £14.5m-per-year deal until 2028 after leaving Liverpool, choosing to stay in Europe amid interest from the US and Saudi Arabia. Manchester City rejected a £38.5m bid from Barcelona for Rodri as the 30-year-old edges closer to leaving the Premier League. Meanwhile Liverpool are close to signing Barcelona's Uruguayan centre-back

Ronald Araújo on loan, while City have agreed a deal to sign Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to replace the outgoing James Trafford, who joined Leeds for £45m. In the Women's Super League, Manchester City's Brazilian winger Kerolin joined Barcelona for a league-record fee of around £1.3m. Elsewhere, defender Gabby George joined Brighton from Manchester United, while Crystal Palace signed Molly Bartrip from Tottenham.

Overheard

'It's just a case of getting curling fit again.'

Retired Winter Olympic curling gold medallist Eve Muirhead announces she is returning to the rink after four years away

Gay a doubt for England vs Pakistan Test

England face a top-order crisis ahead of their three-Test series against Pakistan after Emilio Gay retired hurt while batting for Durham. With Jacob Bethell already missing the Pakistan series with a knee injury, Gay injured his shoulder in a One Day Cup match against Middlesex, leaving England short on options. Jordan Cox is expected to replace Bethell at No 3, but there is no specialist opener in the current squad. Dan Lawrence is expected to bat at No 6, but has previously

opened for England, although he struggled in his six innings. Meanwhile, the former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has stepped down as England Lions head coach after prioritising his role with Big Bash League side Sydney Thunder.

Infantino denies affair pay-off allegations

Uefa paid off a woman alleged to be Gianni Infantino's lover while the now-Fifa president was its general secretary between 2009 and 2016, according to an investigation by the Daily Telegraph. The woman is alleged to have received a six-figure sum while Uefa also paid for her to complete an MBA. A spokesman for Fifa said: "Fifa president Gianni Infantino strongly denies these allegations, and they are categorically untrue." Infantino, who has been married since 2001, is also alleged to have promoted the woman while her boss, but was forced out when then-Uefa president Michel Platini told the Swiss bureaucrat that one of them would have to leave.

Contents

Alexia Putellas: 'Lionesses are what I was looking for' page 6

From hack to track: my new adventures in athletics page 8

Meet Colin Spivey, Britain's fastest nonagenarian page 9

Showjumping made sexy as sport is rejuvenated by tour page 12

On the cover

UAE Team ADQ's Maevu Sajiban during her stage four time trial at the Tour de France Femmes Tim de Waele/Getty

Said & done by Andrew Butler

Another Day in Munich

Take a look at him now – Mathew Collins, son of legendary musician Phil Collins, has signed for former Bundesliga champions 1860 Munich. The 21-year-old midfielder has signed a one-year deal for the club who now play in the fourth-tier Regionalliga. A tip for 1860 Munich fans – just don't let him steal your heart away.

Tattoo soon

During the World Cup we reported on Sean Carrington, the England fan who had the World Cup trophy with "England World Cup winner 2026" tattooed on his calf. We said at the time he would add "just joking" if England weren't victorious, and Carrington has followed through with his promise. "It's not bothering me. It's just a tattoo," he said.

A load of Cobblers

Former Brazil striker Alexandre Pato is part of a consortium reportedly in talks to buy a majority stake in League Two club Northampton Town. The 36-year-old, who played for AC Milan and Chelsea in his 17-year career, is involved in Sports Alpha Capital, who had been in talks to buy Colchester United before pulling out in February this year.

That's quite enough

Not content with winning the match and progressing through to the World Cup final, Argentina have announced that 15 July – the day they beat England in their semi-final – will become "National Football Teams Day". The country's football association said the date was chosen to "commemorate the great and historic victory".

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

3

Paul Hayward

British racing could go way of US if it does not find a way to modernise

The decline of American horse racing may provide a cautionary tale for British tracks. Other elite sports have become fan-facing, story-driven spectacles. In order to survive, racing must do the same

For generations the racetrack was where Americans went to pit their wits against life's unpromising odds. They chased wins at tracks that felt like the American way in miniature. Courses were gathering spots for men (mostly) who shared a dream of easy gains in a social club of cigars and wisecracks.

The way things are going, a day at the races will soon be hard to find in the US, confined to vanishing heartlands in New York, Kentucky and California. Even the palm-tree paradises of Santa Anita in the Californian town of Arcadia and Gulfstream Park in Florida can't be sure of their futures.

As sports betting on athletes with two legs rather than four becomes the norm, American racing read the last rites this summer for Aqueduct, known as "New York City's racetrack", which closed after 132 years.

There was always a shabby and desperate undertow at many of the American tracks I've visited, but also bursts of glamour when a great horse, preferably of the rags-to-riches type, became a national figure. Writers turned Man o'War, Secretariat, Kelso or Seattle Slew into vehicles for reportage on racing as an expression of American life.

Problems in the US feel a world away when British racing assembles for its Elysian summer fixtures: Royal Ascot, the Goodwood festival and York's Ebor meeting (19-22 August). Each is a beneficiary of Britain's addiction to being at events that confer bragging rights (and great pleasure) from simply having a ticket to be there.

Clinging to their charm, the big flat meetings exude a vibe that is garden party meets al fresco gambling on high-class sport. Goodwood opened in 1801, while racing at York has taken place on the Knavesmire since 1731.

Fifty-nine racecourses still operate in Britain. Sometimes you

High-class gamble: racing has clung to its charm at many of the big flat meetings such as Goodwood but it needs to find other sources of income. Alan Coshurst/Getty

Clinging to their charm, the big flat meetings exude a vibe that is garden party meets al fresco gambling

wonder when British racing will halt its turf wars and turn to the most pressing task: how to organise itself as other modern sports do, as an updated, fan-facing, story-driven spectacle.

Anyone scanning the headlines on racing politics might think they'd better get through the gates fast before it all goes the way of Aqueduct. The New Yorker reports that more than 40 US tracks have closed since 2000 and that horse race betting accounted for only $11bn (£8bn) of the $167bn wagered on sport in general in 2025.

The equine death rate there is also unacceptably high. Our racing isn't in anything like that tailspin, but two years ago a rash of stats had analysts fretting about "managed decline."

The figures were falling attendances (there was a rise last year); falling foul numbers, which denote declining confidence in the industry; and falling betting turnover (down 10.7% since 2023).

"Affordability checks" on betting forced through by the Gambling Commission now threaten to slice millions off racing's already tumbling income from betting by potentially driving punters to the

black market. Hence the scramble for cash from media rights and other commercial sources.

The headline "Jockey Club quits Racecourse Association in bombshell for racing" is unlikely to sound like news to anyone outside the industry (Ascot had already walked away). But in these ruptures – and a joint letter in June from York and Goodwood saying an "inflection point" had been reached – it was possible to see the first concerted move towards the "premierisation" of racing – the start of a breakaway at the posh end.

"A sport generating over £4bn annually for the UK economy cannot agree how to govern itself," York and Goodwood lamented. One solution they said was to split the sport into "elite" and "foundation levels".

You could argue it's already happened. The top five owners for prize money in the current championship are all Middle Eastern potentates, from UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Then comes the Coolmore team from Ireland, jump racing too is now dominated by a small elite. There is talk of "external investors" as a single business entity but as things stand the competition structure is too messy to buy into.

If the trophies all go to the mega-owners, racing still protects its democratic ethos. Cartmel, Bangor-on-Toe, Hexham, Pontefract and Great Yarmouth are part of the same breeding and racing pathway as York, Goodwood and Ascot. Its breadth and grassroots depth are racing's strength but also its vulnerability. Logic suggests it should be more focused on the headline acts, but to abandon the smaller tracks runs the risk of ruining what British racing is.

It ought to be straightforward. The breeders breed, the trainers train, the jockeys ride and the horses run. But racing relies too heavily on an external, parallel betting industry. Without a stable governance structure it's made a mess of arranging alternative forms of income.

The risk is that it's posturing its way to irrelevance. Yet five million people went to the racing last year, so the foundations are intact.

With a willingness to understand how other sports evolved in structure and presentation, racing may yet stop being an archipelago of feuding interests. If it needs a cautionary tale to sharpen thinking, the US can oblige.

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Remarkable run: Johor Darul Ta'zim could break the world record if they extend their unbeaten streak to 109 games in the Malaysian Super League. Abdullah Ahmed/Getty

How Crown Prince transformed Chelsea's friendly rivals in Johor

Johor Darul Ta'zim's evolution has brought them a Premier League visitor – and a chance at history

Sam Cunningham Johor

His Royal Highness Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim was at a hockey match in Johor, southern Malaysia, in 2013 when fans pleaded with him to rescue football in the state. At the time, Johor Darul Ta'zim – more commonly known as JDT – had barely evolved in decades. Intrigued, the Crown Prince bought the football club and, over the next 13 years, oversaw one of the most remarkable transformations in world football.

Later this month, when JDT restart the Malaysian Super League season against Kuching, they will not only be defending their crown for a 13th consecutive season but also chasing history. Their unbeaten league run, which began in April 2021, could stretch to 109 games – surpassing the world record set by Ivorian side Asec Mimosas in the early 1990s.

It is a feat that has brought JDT recognition, with the club welcoming Chelsea for a pre-season friendly today. "The world record isn't the goal," the Crown Prince says. "It's a byproduct. When you build the right

way – our academy, our training facilities, our medical science, our culture of winning – the records come to you. We don't chase them. We chase standards, and the records are what happens when your standards are high enough for long enough."

Alistair Edwards, once a wiry striker who helped JDT win the Malaysia League and Cup double in 1991, is now the club's chief operating officer. When the Crown Prince sought someone to professionalise the club, Edwards's name was mentioned, and he remembered the Australian he had watched in training sessions as an eight-year-old.

When Edwards played "the stadium was kind of oldish and dilapidated", he says. "We'd train in an open field, and you'd have to bring your towel and hose yourself down afterwards. In terms of facilities, it's chalk and cheese.

"In 2013 when the Crown Prince started with the club it was exactly the same as it was when I was 20. He just started from scratch."

Today, JDT's training facility has an anti-gravity treadmill and oxygen therapy pods. A new training centre,

'The world record isn't the goal. It's a byproduct. When you build the right way, the records come to you' HRH Sultan Ibrahim

due to open next year, will have seven pitches and an indoor pitch building shaped like the club's tiger badge. The new 40,000-seater Sultan Ibrahim Stadium opened in 2020.

The Crown Prince has modelled JDT on European football, with a Spanish twist. Luis Garcia, a former Champions League winner with Liverpool, is chief executive. Former Watford manager Xisco Muñoz is head coach. Academy director Javier Ribera arrived from Valencia nine years ago. "We tried to bring the methodology and philosophy of Valencia Academy," Ribera says.

Garcia completed his coaching badges while working as a TV pundit but after finishing an MBA found he loved the business side of the game. He spoke to former team-mates in management, including today's opposing manager Xabi Alonso, about what they got from coaching, and decided it wasn't for him.

Garcia joined 18 months ago after meeting with the Crown Prince. "You come here and you don't know what to expect," Garcia says.

"I didn't know much about Malaysia. When I arrived, I found

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European model: the Crown Prince has brought in Spanish coach Xisco Muñoz (left), who will oversee Johor Darul Ta'zim's friendly with Chelsea at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (below). Adrek Kumar/Getty

someone who was eager to leave a legacy in Johor."

Xisco, who joined last summer, was also tempted by the project. "The facilities are the same as when I was in the Premier League," he says.

The Crown Prince is an enigmatic figure. His Instagram is full of videos featuring private jets, military drills and supercars. At JDT, he signs off on everything; his fingerprints everywhere. On the way into the stadium, along the palm-tree-lined roads, opposition coaches pass under bridges draped with banners declaring: "You're entering the home of the Southern Tigers."

The home entrance has signs in gold; the away players arrive to silver. Through the away entrance door, a message stretching across one wall reads "We are fearless" before you are directed past the club's most recent trophy. In the away warm-up room a giant sign reads: "To you lads: you're in the wrong team boys."

Xisco says: "This is my first time working with a prince. He's always thinking how we can improve. It doesn't matter if you win 2-0 or 5-0. It doesn't matter if you reach

the quarter-finals of the Champions League. He's thinking what can he do next season to give one step forward.

"He never says stop. He is always moving forwards. He says you need to give 100% or you have anxiety and you cannot stay here."

The next phase of the Crown Prince's vision is establishing JDT as a force in the Asian Champions League and to build something that "lets a club from Johor stand shoulder to shoulder with the biggest names in the game", he says.

"But this was never only about trophies. When you build a club properly, you build careers, infrastructure and pride that stay in the region – and every time this club competes with the biggest names, it tells the next generation here that there's no ceiling on ambition. That's the legacy that matters most to me."

Where to watch

Johor Darul Ta'zim vs Chelsea

Chelsea FC+ Today, 1pm

Fate of Skinner and Howe reveals managers' plight

Jessy Parker Humphreys

It was a moment that many Manchester United fans had waited a long time for.

On Monday, it was announced that long-serving manager Marc Skinner had left the club after five years, with just over a month until the start of the Women's Super League (WSL) season. Manchester United's statement called it a "mutual termination" of Skinner's contract, which had a year left on it. By all accounts, it was Skinner himself who offered his resignation.

Skinner had been a divisive figure throughout his time at Manchester United. He faced an uphill battle following the popular Casey Stoney who had quit over the lack of support from the club. He did not help himself with his tendency to come across as occasionally patronising, and his team could be tactically uninspiring.

At the same time, he departs as Manchester United's most successful women's manager. Under Skinner, they won their first major trophy, lifting the FA Cup at Wembley in 2024. They made a domestic cup final in four of the five years of his tenure, and were probably unfortunate that they encountered Chelsea on three of those occasions. Last season saw them reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

After losing that match to Bayern Munich, Skinner made an out-of-character statement. Normally a bit of a yes-man when it came to United's hierarchy, he made it clear that the resources at his disposal were not enough to secure the kind of results expected of the team.

"Because we wear Manchester United's badge, everybody expects us to be the very best team in the world. We have that expectation too," he said. "But if we want to compete at this latter stage we've seen what we've got to do as a club. And then it's our choice now, isn't it?"

Skinner was articulating the "expectations vs reality" paradigm which has afflicted United women's team. It was assumed they would compete with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City who had wage bills double the size. The Athletic reported that their budget for this summer was around mid-table in the division. Yet Omar Berrada, CEO of Manchester United, was still insisting that they could win the league by 2028. With little change forthcoming, Skinner concluded he no longer wanted to be the fall guy.

Meanwhile, Eddie Howe encountered a similar issue at Newcastle United. He departed the club at the end of July, like Skinner after five years. The length of time spent in the role is one of a number of parallels between the managers.

Howe had led Newcastle back into

United we fall: Skinner and Howe left their respective clubs in similar circumstances.

Laila Colan (WSL) WSL Football/Getty, Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty Images

the Champions League and to a first major trophy in 70 years, when they lifted the Carabao Cup in 2025. For him, the expectations encountered were less about brand and more about the deep pockets of his bosses.

When Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund bought Newcastle in 2021, everyone assumed the money taps would flow as gushingly as the oil that generated it did. That has proved not to be the case.

After Alexander Isak was sold to Liverpool on deadline day last summer, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have been two of this year's high-profile departures and now captain Bruno Guimarães has signed for Arsenal.

The club is shifting to buying youth prospects. Only Chelsea and Brighton have ever spent more on under-21s in a single season than Newcastle have this summer.

A move towards younger players from their academy is reportedly set to be Manchester United's focus too, due to a belief that current expenditure within the WSL is unsustainable. They sold Melvine Malard, last season's highest goal contributor for them with 10 goals and nine assists, to Chelsea for £850,000.

Football clubs increasingly have financial ideologies. These are set by the suits based on "market opportunities"; "amortisation", the spreading out of a transfer fee over a set period of time; and "pure profit", usually generated through the sale of academy prospects.

Managers – and their own assessment of the resources needed to succeed – are downplayed. Yet it is their reputation on the line if the economic theory turns out to be more credit crunch than roaring 1920s. It is hardly surprising that neither Skinner nor Howe wanted to continue attempting to bridge the expectation gap.

Manchester United appointed Eva Olid on Wednesday, after she won the Scottish Women's Premier League with Hearts last season. Having succeeded with a much smaller budget than the likes of Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City, it is easy to see why she was attractive to United.

Equally, for someone whose only senior managerial job has been with a team who were not even fully professional when she joined in 2021, United represent a clear step up.

Olid told Catalan newspaper Ara that she left Hearts because she was disappointed that they did not have the ambition to push on after qualifying for the Champions League for the first time.

"I wanted to continue if my project continued," she said. "To compete in Europe you need to invest a little more, but the club was not open to it."

It is a feeling that her predecessor will be familiar with.

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Alexia Putellas: 'Lionesses are different – but it's what I was looking for'

The WSL disruptors have made eight signings so far this summer as they look to emulate the Galacticos project

Jessy Parker Humphreys

The YouTube live stream swung into action to show former Arsenal player Jen Beattie on stage in New York. The branding behind her said "Kynisca" – a multi-club ownership group that encompasses teams in France, England and the United States. And after a brief preamble, out walked Alexia Putellas alongside billionaire Michele Kang to announce herself as a London City Lionesses player.

It was the transfer coup of the summer, even if the announcement looked like it was being filmed on a Nokia. When the two-times Ballon d'Or winner announced she was leaving Barcelona, her childhood club, there was not a team in the world who would have turned her down, even at the age of 32. It did not take long for her decision to become clear. When London City Lionesses were first formed, Putellas was beginning to captain Barcelona for the first time. Seven years on, and she was wearing the upstart's shirt.

The decision to announce her on the opposite side of the Atlantic did little to dispel the suspicion that Kang, and her club, are more interested in the global brand of Kang than building something authentic with a fanbase rooted in its community. London City Lionesses are heavily focused on the "daytrippers" segment of women's football, people who might go to see a team once or twice a season rather than week in, week out. They also choose to take commercial appeal into account when considering signings. Putellas is rather useful to tick both boxes, as the league itself appears to realise. Her debut at Hayes Lane in Bromley will open the league season when London City Lionesses play Manchester United on 5 September.

She is one of eight signings that London City Lionesses have made this summer. They came through some presumably tough negotiations with sister club Lyon to bring in forward Kadidiatou Diani for more than £500,000. Milling around at a Kent country club for their media day is a bit like participating in a who's who of the past decade of women's football. Mapi León sticks her tongue out at Daniëlle van de Donk as Mary Earps strides down a corridor.

Putellas is funnier than she comes across on the pitch, claiming that Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze told her

'I came with an open mind so I'm ready for whatever this journey is'

they were going to "kick" her when they met in the league before quickly clarifying she is "just joking".

"It's different but it is what I was looking for," says Putellas, in reference to the club she has joined, not the English breakfast she tried on her arrival in the country. "I came with an open mind so I'm ready for whatever this journey is.

"I'm not looking for what they have in Barcelona. It's a different game and I will try to give my team the best of my qualities.

"The first conversation is about what the club wants and how ambitious the project is. I want to be part of that journey, to bring the experience I have had, and learn as a player to make me more complete. I made that move for that, to be in a position that I have never been [in] and in my opinion this league can give me that."

The obvious reference point for

Kang's project is the Galacticos approach taken by Florentino Pérez during his first stint as Real Madrid president.

"It will become a symbol of the club," he said back in 2000, as he recruited Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham over a number of summers.

Kang's strategy does risk running into some of the foibles of Madrid's with certain positions appearing overindexed and others neglected. She needs commercial revenue and fast, if she is not to fall foul of the Women's Super League's new financial rules. In the 2024-25 season they made a loss of more than £10m off revenue of only £902,000. The new rules state that a team cannot have a wage bill that is greater than 80% of its revenue plus £4m or another 25% of the revenue, whichever is higher. With Putellas supposedly on £1m a year, there does not appear to be much wiggle room.

Nicole Anyomi is one of the other new recruits, with the 26-year-old Germany striker joining from Eintracht Frankfurt. Unlike Putellas, she is yet to meet Kang – although she did speak to manager

New recruit: Nicole Anyomi is another fresh face in Bromley, with the 26-year-old Germany striker joining from Eintracht Frankfurt. Adam Pretty/Getty

Continental shelf: Lionesses' lack of European football this season was supposedly a factor in the two-times Ballon d'Or winner's decision to join them. Madeleine Pothold/London City Lionesses

Eder Maestre before joining, whereas Putellas did not.

"I have had a really warm welcome here," says Anyomi. "The people are so helpful, [and so are] the players. I chose the Lionesses because of the project. They are an independent club and I want to be part of it to achieve something special together."

Kang's mission does generate genuine excitement from the players who are sadly well used to the obstacles of being part of a men's team – underfunded and overlooked. Sometimes the adoration feels almost cult-like. Anyomi says part of why she is at the club is "to give something back because it's really special what she's doing".

Yet the behemoths of the WSL in Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are far more resourced than almost any other women's teams in global football. It is them who London City Lionesses must overtake if they are to achieve Kang's aim of Champions League football.

Uefa have made clear that there will be no girlboss exemption if London City Lionesses and Lyon were to both qualify for the competition. Who knows whether Putellas would get one to recuse herself from playing against Barcelona – the Lionesses' lack of European football this season was supposedly a factor in her decision to join them. What does seem to be certain is that the spending will not stop any time soon.

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Take it or leave it, this England Test side is what we've got

The impossible task of replacing Ben Stokes and a shortage of other senior players means selectors had to order off the set menu, writes Cameron Ponsonby

A small menu may be the sign of a good restaurant, but not a good cricket team. England's three-match Test series against Pakistan starts in less than a fortnight. Joe Root has re-assumed the captaincy, Marcus Trescoblick is interim head coach while Stephen Fleming, the official new head coach, is spending some time in New Zealand with his family before taking over full time in September.

And so, with 10 days to go, the squad for the first two matches of the series was named to a collective shrug and eyeroll from England fans across the country.

No outside-the-box picks in Northamptonshire all-rounder Calvin Harrison or an ascension to the first-team pick in Rehan Ahmed. But a return for Dan Lawrence, two years out of the set-up. A return for Ollie Pope, eight months out of the set-up. And a promotion for Jordan Cox who, with one Test to his name, will bat at No 3 in the absence of the injured Jacob Bethell.

Sorry everyone. But this is what we've got. Take it or leave it.

Because in truth, this squad is as exciting as it could have been. To replace Ben Stokes is an impossible task, and bar the selection of Sam Curran, who head selector Marcus North gave massive props to – it is likely that Curran will play in the

third Test when deemed Test-match fit – the only option England had was to rebalance the side with a part-time spinner in Lawrence, and then select four fast bowlers.

The choice England face for the foreseeable is thus. Pick Curran, or any other seam-bowling all-rounder, at No 7. And your eight to 11 can consist of three other seam bowlers and a specialist spinner such as Shoaib Bashir. Or, if conditions are not conducive to spin, you pick the stronger batter, in this instance

This is the framing reset of English cricket in 2026: expect less, enjoy more

Spin cycle: Dan Lawrence (top) returns after two years out of the England set-up with Ollie Pope (left) back after eight months.

Andy Kearn & Durian Traynor/Getty

Lawrence, to bat at six, bowl some overs, and then your eight to 11 will consist of four fast bowlers. Stokes may have caused turbulence off the field, but on the field he provided balance and he did so for more than a decade.

At 35, Root is the oldest player in the team and a great of the game who is surrounded by those still learning it. Of England's top six, all of Emilio Gay – himself an injury doubt while retiring hurt playing for Durham – Cox and Lawrence are without a Test century. And while Pakistan are weak, their canny seam attack against England's inexperienced batting will bring the two sides closer together. What's more, beyond these three matches a fascinating 18 months of Test cricket lies ahead.

A period of time that includes South Africa away where the Proteas

are favourites; Bangladesh away who have been excellent in home conditions; and then the Ashes at home and India away. That period covers 20 Test matches. As captain, Root has one win in his past 18. It isn't going to get any easier.

A mindset change is required from England fans. England were disliked internationally – and at times domestically – when they appeared to be claiming they were the self-appointed saviours of Test cricket.

The Bazball era is over, and in its place is an inexperienced team at the start of a new journey.

Success will be hard earned and, if it comes, rightfully celebrated. Failures along the way are to be expected. Supporting a team that wins occasionally when you expect it to win all the time is rubbish. Supporting a team that wins occasionally when you expect it to lose is great.

This is the framing reset of English cricket in 2026: expect less, enjoy more.

Structural issues remain, with the final of The Hundred taking place just three days before the first ball of the first Test is bowled. As a result, England have named a 16-man squad consisting of three extra seam bowlers – Brydon Carse, Matt Fisher and Sam Cook – none of whom are expected to play, but may be required if any of the frontline bowlers involved in The Hundred such as Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson or Josh Tongue make it to the final and are deemed to require extra rest.

Earlier this summer, Archer's absence from the first Test against New Zealand due to his participation in the Indian Premier League was heavily criticised. But we've baked this problem into our own cake as well.

Although not formally in the head coach position, Fleming was involved in the selection process of the squad. And the return of Pope as a back-up batter across the top six and as wicketkeeper, plus a recall for County Championship bowler extraordinaire Cook, who played one Test against Zimbabwe last year and has taken 27 wickets in six matches for Essex this season, will be a welcome sight for cricketers across the country – that a new era brings renewed opportunities.

Even the selection of Lawrence, whose bowling this year for Surrey hasn't been flush with wickets, comes off the back of scoring five centuries in the early part of the season and being the best batter on show for his county.

Meanwhile Cox, who missed the early part of the championship due to being at the IPL, made a double century for Essex in his one appearance for them this year. When the page is fresh, decisions can make themselves.

On paper, this is not an all-time England team. But it's the one we've got. And sometimes, those are the best of all.

Where to watch

England vs Pakistan Sky Sports Cricket 19-23 August

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

From hack to track: new coach's report

Rob Draper ordinarily writes about sport. Here, he reflects on the reality of being on the other side of the fence

Young talent: Max McKinstry (left) and Ewan Sparey in training at Bristol and West AC, where Rob Draper now coaches. Gareth Iwan Jones

Having spent a year now officially as a UK Athletics qualified coach overseeing a group of extremely talented under-18 athletes, I can't help but think of the great Arsenal scout Francis Cagigao, now sporting director of Spartak Moscow and famously the man who recruited Cesc Fabregas at 16. Reflecting on how the development team at Arsenal, overseen by head of youth recruitment Steve Morrow, nurtured Bukayo Saka, Cagigao commented: "When one of those comes along all you want to say to people is: 'Don't fuck it up!' Bukayo had natural ability and a great personality."

Which was not to diminish the role of Morrow, a superb coach, or coaching in general. The role is nuanced, specialist and much more complex than I ever imagined. But sometimes talent just plants itself in your path and the best thing you can do is not ruin it.

I have spent my life critiquing coaches from the sidelines as a sportswriter – as writer Murray Kempton said, "a critic is someone who enters the battlefield after the war is over and shoots the wounded" – and it has been a bit of a gear shift to actually have responsibility for the sporting outcome of talented young athletes at Bristol and West AC. When it goes wrong there are a plethora of reasons why. But do outsiders and sports journalists really want to listen to your sob stories?

However much we maintain youth development is a long journey not always related to immediate success, there is always the temptation to judge performance by medals won.

If you're fortunate enough to coach athletes of a certain calibre, you can feel that sometimes the role is simply to get out of the way and let their talent make you look good. The past season saw one athlete I coach, Ewan Sparey, win the prestigious English Schools Under-17 800m title and the subsequent home nations international fixture in Belfast, proving himself best of Britain and Ireland, before coming second in the England Under-18 Championships. Another, Max McKinstry, is the South-West Under-18 800m champion. Many others have made county teams, achieved personal bests and individual landmarks. You take pleasure and pride in them all.

But equally, am I also responsible for the athletes who haven't attained their goals, missed selection for a team or struggled to achieve their undoubted potential? If you take the bouquets, a few bricks also should be coming your way, even in the notoriously fickle world of developing elite teenage athletes, where progress is rarely linear.

How significant is your part in the process when you have athletes so talented? Peter Coe was a genuine coaching legend and trailblazer whose sessions all of us in middle-distance running study. Yet it helped his profile that his son Sebastian had the genetic gifts to make

him a generational 800m talent.

The UK Athletics coaching education programme is excellent and surprisingly hard work for someone like me, who ran to a reasonably high standard into my early 20s and, as such, was under the impression I knew it all. There was an uncomfortable awkwardness about being sent back to school, realising the sport might have moved on in 30 years and that possibly you didn't know it all.

Then there is imposter syndrome to combat when you're sitting in the car with the dad of Cooper Lutkenhaus, George. Lutkenhaus is a Coe-like American track

Pen to stopwatch: Rob Draper with some of the young athletes he works with in Bristol.

Karen Robinson for The Observer

phenomenon, who has run 1min 42.08secs and beaten all the world's leading 800m runners, including the Olympic champion, at 17.

Taking the chance to chat with George, Cooper and his older brother Andrew over breakfast in Dallas – it was a lucky coincidence that England were playing there in the World Cup – was an illuminating and humbling experience. Humbling because George is a genuine pro, with a master's in kinesiology and exercise science and director of athletics for an entire school district in Texas, and my paltry qualifications and experience seem inadequate by comparison. Illuminating, however, in that our instincts and background aren't dissimilar. George and I ran identical 800m times while at university and now find ourselves nurturing athletes far more talented than we were. I had maybe expected to find a talent like Lutkenhaus hot-housed, running 100 miles a week and to be burnt out by 19. But it turns out the outlook of the family and his coach Chris Capeau is aligned to my own: keep the overall mileage low to protect young limbs from injury and keep the quality and speed of track sessions high.

Amid the plethora of scientific and nutritional breakthroughs in the sport, it's hard not to feel like an old-school football manager baffled by a data revolution in training and recruitment. Sometimes I know a session is right because I can smell it, which isn't a metric I can necessarily point to on a spreadsheet. It just feels right.

I know what's required to fill a gap in physiological and psychological development that week but I don't have the science to prove it.

Luckily we have collaborated with former Olympian Martin Rush, the Loughborough-educated University of Bath endurance coach, a man with 25 years of experience and coach to Commonwealth Games 800m semi-finalist Justin Davies.

And yet instinct remains crucial. You watch your runners like a sailor watches the sea. Week in, week out, whether in the glare of the July heatwave sun or sheltering from February sleet, you observe them as they diligently complete their sessions. You get to know their strengths and weaknesses. It is only by showing up and standing with the stopwatch on the dark December night in torrential rain that the symbiotic relationship develops and you can maybe add something consequential.

Without Morrow and the many other youth coaches at Arsenal, Saka wouldn't be the talent he is today. He would undoubtedly be a talent, but not this talent. They enhanced his ability with small interventions along the way.

That I think is the coaching goal. Not to be overbearing, over-controlling and desperate to claim special knowledge that produces unique success.

But to develop an authentic relationship that helps to make a few decent suggestions to nudge a talented athlete into that narrow pathway of success.

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Age no barrier: Colin Spivey prepares to travel to South Korea for his first World Masters Championships at the age of 91. Gary Colton for The Observer

Meet Britain's fastest nonagenarian

Colin Spivey first set foot on a running track at 89. He's now aiming for a world title before he turns 92, writes Ben Bloom

In the kitchen of a neat Huddersfield two-bedroom bungalow, directly opposite a variety of joint health supplements, hangs the silverware plunder of Britain's fastest nonagenarian.

"Col's Collection" – as the homemade sign reads – includes four European and four British athletics gold medals. Over the next fortnight, just before he turns 92, Colin Spivey hopes to add the first global titles to his growing haul when he travels to South Korea for the World Masters Championships.

It is a daunting prospect. Temperature gauges this week touched 42.5C as Korea recorded its hottest day on record. Of greater concern to a man who has happily lived his entire life in the same Yorkshire town are a first long-haul trip and the spectre of unfamiliar Korean food. But Spivey remains cheerfully pragmatic: "At my age, I could pop my clogs tomorrow, so I might as well do as much as I can while I can."

In contrast to its owner, the kitchen medal collection remains in its infancy. Remarkably, Spivey had never set foot on a running track until the age of 89, when a friend pointed out that his times at the local 5km parkrun were of international standard.

On impulse, he initially declined an invitation to compete at the 2024 World Masters Championships in

Sweden. One immediate stumbling block was his lack of a passport. The only time the former tiler had ever been abroad was a two-year national service stint with the Royal Artillery during the 1950s, when primarily based in Egypt during the Suez Crisis.

"My wife [Brenda] wouldn't go on a boat or a plane, so I'd never needed a passport," he explains. "We'd been from Land's End to John o' Groats, but never abroad."

After reconsidering – "I thought: 'What is there to lose?'" – he narrowly missed out on a 5,000m medal on his competitive debut when finishing fourth as the oldest athlete in the 85-89 category. The following year, having ticked over into the 90-94 category, the gold rush began. He swept the board across 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m at the European Championships, broke one world and three British records, and was named the prestigious Athletics Weekly magazine's Male Masters Athlete of the Year.

"It was fantastic," he says, beaming. "I didn't think I'd get to the age of 80, let alone 90."

It is a far cry from a sedentary existence that had only briefly broken in Spivey's early 50s when a younger work colleague challenged him to a mile race.

"The only thing I was good at then was smoking," recalls the father of three, grandfather of five

and great-grandfather of four. "I'd started smoking when I left school and I was still smoking heavily at the time.

"It was about half a mile to the pub down the road, so I waited until midnight, put some old shoes on, got halfway there and I couldn't catch my breath. I just felt awful and collapsed at the side of the road.

"I managed to get myself home, but before I went to bed I threw all my cigarettes, cigars and pipes in the bin. The following day, I bought the cheapest pair of running shoes I could find."

After liberating his body from the effects of that smoking habit, Spivey embarked on a period of mass running challenges, completing the Great North Run, London Marathon and Nottingham Marathon. But when Brenda suffered a series of illnesses a few years later, his athletic endeavours ground to a halt as he devoted himself to caring for his late wife.

When his daughter Alyson convinced him to try a first parkrun in 2012, Spivey dismissed it as a one-off. He has since completed more than 530 of them, acquiring a cult local celebrity status that brings regular selfie requests from his fellow runners.

"It's a bit embarrassing really, because who wants a photograph of me?" he says, modestly.

"One lady brought a pen and I had to sign my name on the back

Colin Spivey's track PBs

200m 54.97 400m 1:46.77 800m 4:17.60 1,500m 8:50.36 5,000m 30:40.23

Yearly best parkrun times

2012 27:32	2020 32:05
2013 27:22	2021 32:02
2014 27:15	2022 30:35
2015 28:21	2023 30:40
2016 29:10	2024 29:51
2017 30:08	2025 31:35
2018 30:57	2026 32:11
2019 29:44

of her T-shirt. It seems ridiculous."

That weekly 5km outing comprises the sum total of Spivey's actual running, instead favouring movement over structured training. Following a regular morning routine of press-ups, sit-ups and stretches, he embarks on a daily five-mile walk, supplemented by a softball tennis game on Thursdays. Only ahead of major events, like that coming up in Korea, does he add in a couple of preparatory runs alongside the nearby canal towpath.

"I'm just lucky, I guess," he says, when asked the secret of his late-blooming athletic prowess. "I've had a few problems with my knees. My hips are aching a little bit at the moment, but that's old age. If I can do it, other people can do it."

Should his legs hold out, an even more improbable ambition awaits in three years' time. Returning from his first world championships inspired by the multi-eventers, Spivey briefly experimented with training for the 10-discipline decathlon. After trying out the javelin, shot put and discus at a local athletics club, he erected a makeshift hurdle on the lawn using garden canes.

"I daren't even attempt it," he chuckles. "I thought I was going to break my legs. I haven't had both feet off the ground at the same time for 60-odd years. But I've told my daughter that if I get to the next age group, which is 95-99, I'll definitely give the decathlon a go."

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10

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Riders and sliders: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Brad Binder comes off the truck in practice at Silverstone. Glyn Kirk/MFP/ Getty Images

High-octane and entertaining,

MotoGP is still stuck behind F1

A dearth of British riders and declining attendances are roadblocks in Liberty Media's mission to turn it into one of the UK's mainstream sports, writes George Simms

At first glance, Formula One was hosting another of its ceaseless "activations" in a central London "entertainment space" with screens for walls. The fonts and colour scheme and aesthetic were familiar, as were the sponsors - Red Bull, Qatar Airways, the same screeching engines and squealing influencers, stars as walking billboards.

But on closer inspection it didn't quite look or sound right. The engines were tinnier and whinier, the stars and influencers less recognisable, hometown rather than Hollywood good-looking. Really, the five motor- bikes flanking their riders were a giveaway. MotoGP was in town.

According to its communications director Michael Gibson, MotoGP's fresh ambition is to become "one of the mainstream sports in the UK". Liberty Media - who also own Formula One - bought the series in July 2025 after a protracted take- over, and are attempting to run the same plays on two wheels which have proved revolutionary on four. For the first time, the pre-British grand prix press conference was held at Outernet outside Tottenham Court Road sta- tion in central London, which claims to be the most-visited cultural attrac- tion in the UK, though anyone who has been near it will have observed that a lot of those visitors stick their head in for less than a minute.

On a breezy Thursday morning, 150 or so fans were penned into a corner to watch riders speak, but neither

Guenther Steiner, the former Formula One team manager and almost cer- tainly the best-known name to British motorsport fans currently associated with MotoGP, nor Marc Márquez attended the press conference.

Five riders were on duty at Outernet - Al Ogura, Marco Bezzecchi, Pedro Acosta (sporting some of the most remarkable facial hair I've ever seen, sideburn-adjacent cheek patches on an otherwise clean-shaven face and skin fade), Diogo Moreira and 40-year-old Brit Cal Crutchlow (out of retirement for a second time).

Only Ogura and Bezzecchi are cur- rently ranked in the top five, Bezzecchi the closest thing to a bona fide star within the sport. Japan's Ogura, sec- ond in the rider championship, was artfully, intensely dull, while all five were pessimistic about their chances of success at Silverstone. Acosta, who sits seventh in the rider rankings, said "it would take a miracle" to even be in contention.

There is an obvious attempt to sell MotoGP on its high-octane dan- ger - many of the clips broadcast on

'It's better than F1 racing-wise, 100%. If we get the people to MotoGP, they will stay' Cal Crutchlow

the walls show high-speed smashes and crashes. We are informed that Bezzecchi fractured his collarbone while racing less than a month ago and will still compete at Silverstone. When Kimi Antonelli visited the Italian grand prix at Mugello in May, his main takeaway was "[MotoGP rid- ers] are definitely more nuts than us".

And yet MotoGP is enduring a crisis of popularity in the UK, attendance at the Sunday of last year's British grand prix just 40,518, almost half the fig- ure of a decade prior and less than a quarter of the 2026 Formula One attendance, 175,000 through the gates on grand prix Sunday and 564,000 across four days. The clearest cause for this decline is the move from free-to- air TV - MotoGP has been paywalled since 2014, with the only options for British viewers a TNT Sports sub- scription (£30.99 per month) or the in-house VideoPass (£175 a year).

But another trigger is the lack of British riders, in part fuelled by a pref- erence for Superbike over grand prix racing - seven Brits compete in the World Super Bike Championship.

Crutchlow is only racing at Silverstone because he was called up as a replacement rider for his for- mer team Honda LCR, and expects to be bringing up the rear. A decade ago he finished second in his home race, but retired formally in 2020 as the only Brit to win a premier class race since Barry Sheene in 1981, who was inaugurated into the MotoGP Hall of Fame on Thursday. Sheene

was the last British rider to become world champion, in 1976 and 1977. No British rider has even had a per- manent MotoGP seat since Crutchlow retired. "I don't know if it's a culture thing or not getting the support from our federation, because I do think there's the talent, but we don't get to see it," Crutchlow explained.

"We have these guys in Moto3 that can never move out. Then if they do go to Moto2, they don't do much. It's a difficult scenario that I wish I could help with, and I've tried many, many times. The other thing is MotoGP are trying. We fund the riders, but they just don't make it. The riders need to have more determination, and more grit, and more want to be able to make it to the top championship in the world."

But Crutchlow believes Liberty can transform MotoGP, in part because the sporting product is so unpredictable and entertaining - the last 11 British grands prix have had 11 different winners. "MotoGP as a whole is a great sport. It's better than F1 racing-wise, 100%. If we get the people to MotoGP, they will stay and continue to come," he said. "People are addicted to our sport."

He does have a working theory on how to attract more people to Silverstone, but only said that "it involves combining a Formula One ticket and a MotoGP ticket".

Steiner told Reuters that "MotoGP doesn't need help with the racing, but just on the presentation." For all it might be attempting a Formula One impression, there is still a way to go.

Where to watch

MotoGP British Grand Prix

TNT Sports 2 Today, 1pm

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

11

Unpredictable Tour de France Femmes goes down to the wire with nothing left to prove

Record television audiences see Demi Vollering claim yellow jersey going into today's thrilling conclusion

Esmé Lewis Nice

After a week of climbs, here comes the cliffhanger. Demi Vollering seized the initiative in the Tour de France Femmes by winning the penultimate stage in Nice and taking the overall lead from rival Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney by just eight seconds, to perfectly set up today's final stage. As Vollering celebrated, defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was on her way home, having failed to start stage eight in Sisteron.

By the time the Tour de France Femmes concludes in Nice today, the yellow jersey will belong to its deserving owner. But regardless of who stands on the podium, this year's race has already delivered something more significant.

Across nine days of racing, the Tour de France Femmes has confirmed that it has come of age – more competitive, more ambitious, more visible and more popular than ever before. Its rapid growth is reflected in the numbers as much as the excitement around the race.

Race director Marion Rousse says its audience on French television has peaked at around four million – about 80% of the audience for the men's Tour. "It's crazy because the race has only existed for five years and it feels a lot longer because people have really taken to the Tour de France Femmes," she said. "The TV audience has been growing."

Unlike the men's Tour, the Femmes has been unpredictable from the off. There has been genuine drama. The general classification has remained open, with momentum shifting almost daily. Sigrid Haugset held the yellow jersey on Monday, Marlen Reusser on Tuesday, and Niewiadoma-Phinney pulled off a stunning ride on Mont Ventoux to take the overall lead on Friday. Several of the biggest names have struggled to live up to expectations.

Ferrand-Prévot's title defence dramatically unravelled, as the Visma-Lease a Bike rider pulled out of the race ahead of yesterday's stage due to illness, while Reusser's resurgence, bouncing back from the burnout and fatigue that had previously threatened her career, has been at the centre of the race.

Yet the Tour's success has not

Countdown: the peloton raced from Sisteron (top) to Nice via the Pont Saint-Julien in Saint-André-les-Alpes (left) yesterday. Dutch rider Demi Vollering (below) has the lead going into the final stage.

Tim de Watie/Getty, Nicolas Tocat/AFP via Getty

been built on competitive racing alone. There is now a sense that the women's peloton has developed its own identity, one built on fierce and uncompromising competition alongside a willingness to speak openly about the realities of elite women's sport.

Reusser is the embodiment of that culture. A qualified doctor and Green Party activist, the 34-year-old spoke candidly about burnout after abandoning the 2023 World Championships, saying, "I am not a machine." The Swiss rider has now become one of the peloton's most thoughtful voices.

"Sometimes I have the feeling people and also my competitors take cycling very, very seriously," she said.

"And like everything in life – it's a fun thing. It's just a bike race."

Reusser has backed away from the pressures of professional sport, while also being successful. In paying tribute to her team's performance following stage five, she said that she would rather ride alongside "10 people with no legs" who create a positive atmosphere, than simply the strongest riders.

Océane Mahé's story offered a different perspective on the race's rapid rise and reflected the continuing disparity in earnings. After winning the

Queen of the Mountains jersey on stage one, the French rider spoke openly about the financial realities of professional cycling.

"This year my salary is just a little above the French minimum wage," she said. "I earn exactly €1,550 [€1,328] per month." Her parents still help her with rent, while she combines professional cycling with an engineering placement.

Mahé's experience is a reminder that the growth of the Tour Femmes has not yet translated into financial security for everyone in its peloton. The biggest names in women's cycling, like Ferrand-Prévot, can now command substantial salaries, but for many riders, reaching the biggest race in the sport remains a labour of love, less about glory and ego than the joy of the sport.

This openness from the Femmes extends beyond money. Kim Le Court spoke candidly about the effect of her menstrual cycle on her performances, attributing two difficult days earlier in the Tour partly to her period, before going on to win stage six while menstruating. "We often view menstruation in a negative way," she said. "We need to talk about it more and embrace it."

The Tour Femmes has not always enjoyed the level of respect it does today. During the inaugural 2022 edition, a series of crashes prompted a wave of online misogyny and claims that the women "couldn't ride".

For Luxembourg champion Christine Majerus, her response to this was simple – taking to social media she posted photographs of crashes from the men's Tour with the caption, "For the haters... shall I continue?"

Four years on, the conversation has changed. As Rousse puts it: "Back then it was all, 'Are the women good enough?' Now it's, 'Why don't you have more stages? Why isn't every stage shown live?' Nobody asks if the women are good enough any more."

Since the Tour Femmes' revival, critics have repeatedly questioned whether the women's peloton could take on cycling's most legendary climbs, with Mont Ventoux often held up as one of the ultimate tests. Five editions later, Friday's thrilling stage on the mountain felt like a climb that symbolised the Femmes' coming of age.

By the time the race concludes this evening, the women will have raced every one of cycling's iconic ascents, and with aplomb each time. Any shadow of scepticism has been shut down. As Reusser said: "It's proof that human beings aren't always such a smart species."

Where to watch

Tour de France Femmes

TNT Sports 1 Today, 1.45pm

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Results

WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP

Dundee 2 Aberdeen 0 St Mirren 1 St Johnstone 0

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Gd	Pts
St Mirren	2	2	0	0	3	0	3	6
Dundee	2	1	0	1	2	1	1	3
Motherwell	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3
Celtic	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3
St Johnstone	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	3
Aberdeen	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3
Dundee Utd	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
Rangers	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
Kilmarnock	1	0	0	1	3	4	-1	0
Hearts	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Hibernian	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Falkirk	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0

CARABAD CUP - 1st round: AFC Wimbledon 1 Newport County 1 (AFC Wimbledon win 5-4 on penalties), Barnsley 1 Wigan 1 (Barnsley win 6-5 on penalties), Bradford 2 Rockdale 0, Bristol Rovers 0 Peterborough 1, Bromley 1 Reading 1 (Reading win 5-4 on penalties), Barnsley 1 Notts County 1 (Barnsley win 4-3 on penalties), Burton Albion 1 Blackburn 2, Cambridge Utd 2 Barnet 1, Cardiff 3 Swindon 2, Cheltenham 1 Charlton 1, Colchester 0 Southampton 2, Crown 2 Accrington Stanley 1, Derby 1 Lincoln City 2, Farnwood Town 1 Chesterfield 0, Gillingham 0 Luton 3, Grimsby 1 Blackpool 3, Leicester 1 Northampton 0, Leyton Orient 2 Oxford Utd 0, Norwich 4 Milton Keynes Dons 1, Preston North End 1 Hackensfield 1 (Preston North End win 4-3 on penalties), QPR 1 Millwall 1 (Millwall win 2-0 on penalties), Rotherham 1 West Brom 4, Salford City 1 Shrewsbury 1 (Shrewsbury win 4-3 on penalties), South West 1 Bolton 0, Stockport County 1 Doncaster 1 (Doncaster win 5-4 on penalties), Stoke 2 Oldham 0, Swansea 0 Birmingham 1, West Ham 3 Portsmouth 1, Watford 1 Crawley Town 0.

FRIENDLIES: Chelsea 3 AC Milan 0, Eintracht Frankfurt 2 Hull 0, Leeds 2 RB Leipzig 0, Lens 0 Sunderland 2, Mon Utd 1 PSG 1.

WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH - C'V'ship: Arbroath 0 Inverness CT 0, Dunfermline 1 Apr 1, Queen's Park 1 Raith 2, Stonfleet 2 Morton 0, League 1: Airdrieonians 1 East Kilbride 1, East Fife 2 Cree Rangers 0, Hamilton 1 Alco 0, Queen of South 0 Peterhead 1, Ross County 2 Montrose 1, League 2: Dumbarton 1 Clyde 0, Elgin 1 Forfar 1, Kelty Hearts 3 Stirling 2, Spartans 2 Edinburgh City 2, Stoke 0, Aveson Athletic 1.

ENTERPRISE NATIONAL LEAGUE: AFC Fylde 2 Bredstone 2, Altrincham 1 Southend 3, Burnham Wood 3 Tamworth 3, Boston Utd 0 Aldershot 1, Carlisle 2 Worthing 3, Eastleigh 2 Gateshead 1, Forest Green 3 FC Halifax 1, Harrogate Town 5 Solihull Mears 2, Hartlepool 2 Barrow 0, Haverchurch 3 Kildersminster 0, Scunthorpe 1 Yeovil 1, Moking 0 Sutton Utd 3.

CRICKET THE HUNDRED MEN AND WOMEN - GROUP STAGE: M London Women v Trent Rockets Women (The Kia Oval): M London 121-5 (UNR Balls, 5 L Bates 3-13); Trent Rockets 125-1 (NZ Balls, N R Scism-Brant 87m; B L Mooney 54m); Trent Rockets win by Svanchats. M London Men v Trent Rockets Men (The Kia Oval): M London 147-7 (100 Balls, 5 M Carran 72); Trent Rockets 140-4 (90 Balls, M J Suntner 52m); Trent Rockets win by 6 wickets.

RUGBY LEAGUE BETREDD SUPER LEAGUE: Bradford 1, Warrington 1, Hackensfield 42 Catalans Dragons 20, Wigan 48 Toulouse 18. BETREDD WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE: Leeds Rhinos Women 18 York Voltaire 16, Leigh Leopards Women 4 Featherstone Rovers Women 16. BETREDD CHAMPIONSHIP: Salford RIFC 18 Swinton 20.

CYCLING UCI WOMEN'S WORLD TOUR TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES - STAGE 8 (Johnson-Nice) (375 likes): 1 D Vollering (Red) FD United-SUZ 4hrs 2mins 10secs, 2 E Longs Berghini (Ha) U4E Team 1 MAD +1s, 3 K Nowiadoma-Phinney (Pol) CANYON/SRAM at same time. Overall: 1 D Vollering (Red) FD United-SUZ 2hrs 10mins 10secs, 2 J K Nowiadoma-Phinney (Pol) CANYON/SRAM +0s, 3 M Roscoe (Sa) Movistar Team +1.12.

MOTORCYCLING MOTOR GRAND PRIX OF UNITED KINGDOM (Silverstone, Northamptonshire) MOTORSPORT Qualifying: 1 J Martin (Spa) Aprilia 1min 56. 160secs, 2 R Fernandez (Spa) Aprilia 1.56. 161, 3 A Opara (Lyn) Aprilia 1.56. 349, 4 F Di Giannantonio (Ha) Ducati 1.56. 415, 5 M Bessecchi (Ha) Aprilia 1.56. 456. Sprint Race: 1 J Martin (Spa) Aprilia 1.56. 456. 4 A Opara (Lyn) Aprilia 1.56. 1 M Bessecchi (Ha) Aprilia 1.56. 1 M Roscoe (Sa) Movistar Team +1.12.

Showjumping made sexy: sport is rejuvenated by innovative tour

Geldings and glamour descend on London as the Longines Global Champions Tour's Olympians and famous names contend for the UK's highest-ever prize pot in Chelsea

Samantha Weinberg

The lawns of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea splay down from Sir Christopher Wren's grand, classical buildings towards the River Thames. For most of the year they're a tranquil place: visitors can wander around, sit on a bench, pass time with the Chelsea Pensioners. In May, things become busier for a while, as the garden cognoscent flock to the Chelsea Flower Show. That is how the rhythm of life has been for the past century.

But on a hot weekend in August, there's a different scene. Ranks of black limos are parked outside the Bull Ring Gate on the Embankment. Inside, there are stalls selling luxury - from lilac riding jackets with glittered lapels at the special sale price of £350, to advanced beauty devices (whatever they are) and Piaf champagne, by the ice-bucket load. People are milling around: ladies up from the country for the weekend; young couples with glossy manes and designer sunglasses; kids dragging their parents to the ice-cream van. A woman in an ice-blue long satin dress and chiffon scarf wafts by.

Red-carpeted steps lead into the VIP area, which opens on to banks of dining tables facing a sand arena. The VIPs - motor racing's Ecclestones, guests of the fashion house Celine, various lords and ladies, influencers and Towie actors - are watching a horse and rider cruise around a

course of coloured jumps, as tall as an average person and the width of a double bed. This is the London leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT). The rider in the ring is Ben Maher, multiple Olympic gold medalist, gunning for a place in the Grand Prix - taking place today - with its million-Euro prize pot, the highest ever in the UK. There's an intake of breath as he gallops round to the last fence, then applause as he clears it.

There was a time when show-jumping was a major sport in this country. The big horse shows - at Wembley, Hickstead and Earl's Court - were prime-time viewing on the BBC. When Harvey Smith, a bluff Yorkshireman, gave what appeared to be the V-sign at the judges after winning the Hickstead Derby, it was headline news. The events had title sponsors like Everest Double Glazing, Carpetright and Silk Cut.

Then it faded from popularity. The riders kept plugging away at the county shows, making a few hundred pounds in prize money, dealing in horses to keep them on the road. But the sport was struggling and the national governing bodies didn't have a rescue plan.

Then, in 2005, Jan Tops, a Dutch Olympian show jumper, had a midnight flash of inspiration: show-jumping had to become sexy. He grabbed a pen and napkin and sketched out the guiding concepts behind what has become the LGCT. First, the sport should be brought into the hearts of major cities around

Good show: Chelsea Pensioners (above) and crowds enjoy watching the riders at the Royal Hospital grounds. Andy Hally The Observer

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the world: to Monaco, Paris, Mexico City and Istanbul. Second, each location needed an iconic backdrop: the pyramids in Cairo, Miami Beach, the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum in Rome. Thirdly, there had to be the sort of prize money that had never been seen before in showjumping, to lure the best riders in the world and inject new life and lustre into the sport.

The Global Champions Tour launched in 2006 with six events. Longines took over from Rolex to become the title sponsor in 2012. This season there are 17 legs, which culminate in the grand finale in Riyadh in mid November. The tour pays the expenses of the five-star riders, flying the horses around the world, paying for hotels and stables. The total prize money over the year is €36m (£31m).

"We need shows like this to showcase talent to owners and to show the world our sport," says Harry Charles, another British Olympian, in the stables before the Friday afternoon Grand Prix qualifier class. "The national circuit is dead. There's a great depth of riders out there with few opportunities."

Some, though, have more than others. Last year, Charles married Eve Jobs, daughter of Steve, and a fellow show jumper on the LGCT circuit. She's part of a new generation of riders with recognisable names that has emerged in parallel to the tour: Athina Onassis, Jessica Springsteen – who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics – Georgina Bloomberg and

Jennifer Gates. It's not clear which came first, the money or the glamour, but these days they are inextricably connected, and an integral – sometimes controversial, for being offered wild-card entries to events over riders with better sporting claims – component of the tour.

Ten years ago, Tops came up with a new innovation that brought more lustre and more sponsors: to add a team competition. Unlike regular Nations' Cups, the teams are multi national, more along the lines of motor racing. At the start of the

Inside the arena: spectators mingle in the practice area (top) while riders relax between events during the 11th stop of the 17-leg tour. Andy Hall/ The Observer

season, each team recruits its riders, one of whom has to be under 25, and pays the tour a "significant amount" for their spot in the League. There's a mid-season transfer window, labyrinthine rules, and an end of season final for the top six teams.

In London on Friday night, the Mexico Amigos – represented by husband-and-wife Zoe Hank Conter and Carlos Hank Guerreiro, whose family owns the team – narrowly beat Scott Brash and Denis Lynch who were riding for Bloomberg's New York Empires. "I've never seen horse jumping before," said a woman sitting nearby, who had taken three days off work to come. "This might be the best day of my life."

Today's Grand Prix will be fast and furious. The million euros ensures that. The three British Olympians, Charles, Meyer and Brash, will be among the favourites to win, along with Henrik von Eckermann on King Edward, the individual winners in the Tokyo Olympics, and Gilles Thomas.

Outside the arena, the Chelsea Pensioners have a stall. Roy Palmer, aged 87, is pedalling a stationary bike behind a sign that explains that he's cycling the equivalent of Land's End to John o' Groats to raise money for the Royal Hospital and the War Horse Memorial. "I was the first mounted town crier, up in Mablethorpe," he explains. "I like having all this here." He gestures towards the crowd. "And if they're obnoxious, I just tell them, 'Ol, you're in my back garden and you had better behave!'"

'We need shows like this... The national circuit is dead. There's a great depth of riders out there with few opportunities'

Harry Charles, Olympian and LGCT rider

observer.co.uk

09.08.26

13

Fixtures

Kick off 3.00 unless stated

TODAY

CARABAD CUP - FIRST ROUND

Manfred v Sheff Old (4.00).

WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP

Hearts v Danbie Old, Kilmarnock v Collie (3.30), Motherwell v Follick, Rangers v Hibernian (4.00).

FRIENDLY MATCHES

John David Ticton v Chelsea (1.00), Man City v Athletics Madrid (Noon), Liverpool v Monaco (2.30).

CRICKET

The Handred: SunRivers Leeds v Welsh Fire (Headingley, Men 2.30pm, Women 1) and, London Spirit v Birmingham Phoenix (Lynch, Men 6pm, Women 2.30).

RUGBY LEAGUE

Bedford Super League: Huddersfield v Catalans Dragons (7.45pm).

TOMORROW

CARABAD CUP - FIRST ROUND

Plymouth v Exeter (8.00).

CRICKET

The Handred: Trent Rockets v Southern Brave (Trent Bridge, Men 6.30pm, Women 3pm).

TUESDAY 11 AUGUST

CRICKET

The Handred: Manchester Super Giants v SunRivers Leeds (Eminion Old Trafford, Men 6.30pm, Women 3pm).

WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST

UEFA SUPER CUP - FINAL

PSG v Aston Villa (8.00), H-Sidbury, Airdrie.

FRIENDLY MATCHES

Everton v Newcastle (5.15), Man Utd v Leeds (7.30).

CRICKET

The Handred: Welsh Fire v London Spirit (Sophia Gardens Cardiff, Men 3pm, Women 1) 3.30pm, Birmingham Phoenix v Mt London (Edgbaston, Men 6.30pm, Women 3pm).

THURSDAY 13 AUGUST

EUROPA LEAGUE - 3RD Q'YING ROUND - 2ND LEG

Hearts (3) v Benfica (6), Rangers (1) v Jagiellonia Bialystock (2) (7.30).

EUROPA CONFERENCE LGE - 3RD Q'YING 2ND-2ND LEG Motherwell (2) v York (2) (7.30), Schenlejo (1) v Hibernian (2) (7.00).

RUGBY LEAGUE

Bedford Super League: Hull V 8 v Catalans Dragons (8.00), Leeds v Leigh (8.00), Warrington v York (8.00).

FRIDAY 14 AUGUST

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Wolverhampton v Blackburn (8.00).

PREMIER SPORTS CUP - SECOND ROUND

Kilmarnock v Her.

RUGBY LEAGUE

Bedford Super League: Hull v Castleford (8.00), Hull V 8 v Catalans Dragons (8.00), Warrington v York (8.00). Kick off 3.00 unless stated

CRICKET

The Handred: Eliminators - TBC v TBC (The Hurlbut, Men 6pm, Women 2.35pm).

SATURDAY 15 AUGUST

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Belfast v Proston North End (12.30), Bristol City v Milwack, Charlton v Derby, Middlesbrough v Lincoln City, Norwich v West Brom, Portsmouth v QPR, Sheff Old v Birmingham (9.30), Stoke v Swansea

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

Barnsley v Bromley, Blackpool v Wycombe, Bradford v Peterborough, Burton Albion v Stowclope, Cambridge Old v Wigan, Huddersfield v AFC Wimbledon, Leyton Street v Sheff Med, Mansfield v Doncaster, Notts County v Leicester (12.30), Oxford Old v Milton Keynes Dons (12.30), Plymouth v Stockport County, Reading v Luton (12.30).

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO

Accrington Stanley v Colchester, Barnet v Salford City, Cheltenham v Rotherham, Chesterfield v Fleetwood Town, Crawley Town v Crowe, Gillingham v Walsall, Grimsby v Exeter, Newport County v Rochdale (12.30), Northampton v Swindon, Oldham v Port Vale (12.30), Tranmere v Birmingham, York v Bristol Rovers.

Aberdeen v Dundee, Dundee Old v Celtic (5.45), Dunfermline v Ross County

FRIENDLY MATCHES

Hull v Kew, Leeds v Augsburg (2.00), Man Utd v AC Milan (1.00), Sandbrand v Rennes.

CRICKET

The Handred: Finals - TBC v TBC (Lynch, Men 6pm, Women 2.35pm).

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST

FA COMMUNITY SHIELD

Arsenal v Man City (At Principality Stadium, Cardiff).

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Barnsley v West Brom (4.00), Watford v Southampton (3.30).

Hearts v Hromness (7.12.00), Hibernian v Partish (2.00), Rangers v St Mirren (4.00), Stonfriesemuir v Wethersett (2.00).

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

'Cape Crusaders' welcome

All Blacks to South Africa

Many fans across the Western Cape back New Zealand – and not all Springboks are happy about it

Ben Coles

Last Friday, New Zealand held an open training session at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, the venue for their opening match against the Stormers on their 'Greatest Rivalry' tour around South Africa, which will culminate with four Test matches against the Springboks.

One of the All Blacks' social media posts from the event had the caption: 'OUR PEOPLE.' At the end of that caption was a flag. Not the familiar blue ensign with red stars of New Zealand, but the Rainbow Flag of South Africa. Another post read: 'Sharing the love with our Cape Town family.'

The All Blacks announced that event two days beforehand. Over 5,000 people showed up on a Friday afternoon, wearing All Blacks shirts, waving flags and singing, waiting to meet their heroes. Almost all were local supporters from across the Western Cape, there to support not their own national side in this 'Greatest Rivalry', but the opposition.

Marica Sedgwick, along with her granddaughter and sister, travelled two hours from Strand to be there, posting photos on Facebook decked out in All Blacks shirts and hats. 'It was just something else. To be surrounded by so many fellow All Blacks

supporters, it was amazing. I can't put it into words,' she told The Observer.

There is a historical connection that has to be acknowledged. During Apartheid, the mixed-race South Africans in the Western Cape would choose to support the more representative All Blacks over the predominantly white Springboks sides.

The birth of Super Rugby in the mid-1990s then meant New Zealand sides were regularly visiting Cape

Town to face Western Province and later the Stormers, creating an opportunity for local All Blacks supporters to watch some of their heroes. The Crusaders were New Zealand's most successful franchise, hence the birth of the nickname 'Cape Crusaders'.

This came to a head in 2013 when, following a Crusaders win over the Stormers at the old Newlands Stadium, South Africa wing Bryan Habana expressed frustration at so

Rivalry: Stormers' Warrick Gelant, centre, finds himself outnumbered by All Blacks in Cape Town on Friday. Earlier, the Kiwis get a warm welcome (top). Hidden Krog/AP Photo, Rodger Bosch/AP via Getty

many of his compatriots cheering on a side from over 7,000 miles away. 'I highly doubt there's any place in the world where you get booed off your bus, at your home stadium, by your 'fellow' countrymen,' he said.

That game was one flashpoint in a testing decade for the Springboks. The implementation of a quota system to select more black players by the South African Rugby Union became a lightning rod for the team's on-field struggles, as they fell short at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups and plummeted down the rankings, until the arrival of Rassie Erasmus.

The team's subsequent success has come not only in the form of silverware – winners of the last two Rugby World Cups and the current dominant force in the men's game – but also in transforming the Springboks into a more representative reflection of South Africa as a nation, led by their first black captain in Siya Kolisi.

Perhaps the assumption was that a more modern and victorious Springboks side would lead to those Cape Crusaders getting behind them. But according to Sedgwick, the number of supporters crossing over has been minimal. 'You see a few changing to the Springboks, but that's the minority. Winning or losing, we will always support [the All Blacks]. The Springboks winning the World Cup and being on a winning streak will not change our family's perspective.'

This sentiment has notably irked some South Africans, who, while respecting that people are entitled to support who they like, are irritated that the work that has gone into changing the Springboks has not been enough to unite the country – that South Africans are still cheering against South Africa.

When anyone criticises Sedgwick about this, or sends her gloating messages after a Springboks win, she takes it 'with a pinch of salt'. 'At the end of the day, we respect [the Springboks fans] and who they support, so all we would want is that in return.'

While for some South Africans history plays a part in their support of the All Blacks, for others it appears to be more philosophical, connected to the attractive style of rugby and 'no dickheads' culture. 'I just like what they stand for,' Sedgwick adds.

Her husband has been an All Blacks supporter 'forever' and they have been married for 32 years, when Marica's passion began. Ticket prices for Friday's match between the Stormers and the All Blacks, with New Zealand eventually pulling away to win 38-21, meant it was not possible 'for us as a middle-class family to purchase [them]', she explains, watching instead from home.

Two years ago, however, when the All Blacks played the Springboks in Cape Town, the Sedgwicks were able to buy tickets to see their team. Her enthusiasm recalling that day – 'the haka, oh my word' – is infectious.

For some, supporting the All Blacks may have started as a protest. For others, including Sedgwick, it has come to mean much more than that. This is now a generational passion.

'It's our dream to go to New Zealand, me and my husband, before we close our eyes on this earth, to watch a match,' she said. 'That will be the ultimate gift to both of us.'

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

15

Ten years on, Owsley will draw on Rio Olympics gold for World Cup inspiration

Goalscorer in 2016 final will also have eyes on LA 2028, writes Rod Gilmour

During the Fifa World Cup, Lily Owsley was in the queue at her local coffee shop in Fulham. The barista, knowing Owsley's sporting exploits, was serving a customer who was talking fervently about London 2012's Super Saturday and Team GB's women's hockey gold at Rio 2016.

Owsley remained unrecognised as an Olympian by the customer. "I didn't say who I was," she says, "but I said, 'Yes, both of those days really did unite a nation.' It did make me proud though."

It is 10 years this month since Owsley, who at 21 was the youngest member of the GB hockey team, scored the opening goal in the Olympic final against world No 1 the Netherlands. The BBC's News at Ten was then delayed as Team GB won an exhilarating shoot-out thanks to goalkeeper Maddie Hinch's heroics.

The anniversary, on 19 August, falls during England's campaign at the men's and women's World Cup, which starts next Saturday and is co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.

As the last remaining squad player from Rio, Owsley, 31, will not have any team-mates left "to have a little nod and moment with".

"But it will be natural to reflect," she says. "Thinking about that game is only motivation and a positive for the World Cup."

England had finished a paltry 11th at the 2014 World Cup, which then saw Danny Kerry reinstalled as coach. It sparked a seismic turnaround. England beat the Dutch in the 2015 EuroHockey final before a record, seven-match winning streak in Rio qualifying.

Because Team GB enters a single Olympic berth, only one home nation, historically England, is tasked with qualifying. The head coach is then a unified role between the two entities.

Another unbeaten run under Kerry followed in Brazil, rescued in the final when Team GB – fielded entirely by England players – twice came from behind to force the shoot-out and subsequent delirium at Deodoro Olympic Hockey Centre.

Tinseltown: if selected for LA, Lily Owsley will aim to equal Laura Roper's record as the most decorated GB hockey Olympian. Barrington Coombs/Getty Images

'We understood how to win. If you speak about a "fight or flight" response, we just had fighters'

Alyson Annan, who took China to silver at the Paris Olympics, was then Dutch coach and said her team, vying for an Olympic hat-trick, had been physically and mentally better.

"I have heard things over the years like, 'You girls should never have won,'" Owsley says. "It is crazy given we won the Euros, qualifiers and Olympics."

High flyer: Owsley won gold at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020, as well as gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with England. Robert Ciardiana/Getty Images

"To win tournaments when you're not the best team there is an element of things having to fall your way, but the more you train and want to win it, I struggle to believe those things are lucky."

One of those signs was captain Maartje Paumen's penalty stroke saved by Hinch in the final. "She never missed, but you can make it hard for your opponents with pressure and then things start to happen," says Owsley.

"We understood how to win as underdogs. If you speak in psychology about a 'fight or flight' response, we just had fighters."

"I would never say we were the best, most talented team. But the fight we could display when others would hide, that's what we showed time and again. Winning became a habit."

Owsley acknowledges that the GB centralised system at Bisham Abbey, set up prior to London 2012, was a "massive advantage" for the Rio cycle. Since then, other nations' programmes, like those in Belgium, China and Spain, have caught up.

After winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics under Australian Mark Hager, current coach David Ralph's England side have failed to medal at major events, barring 2022 Commonwealth gold.

Meanwhile, in the past two International Hockey Federation Pro Leagues, a global nine-team tournament, England have struggled, only managing to stave off relegation in the final throes.

Owsley says: "It would have been devastating. But maybe we needed a few years at the bottom of those Pro Leagues or not playing semi-finals of EuroHockey to feel the consequences of losses."

"This current group is probably the most talented I have seen. The catch is trying to put that on show in World Cup pressure moments."

Conversely, the Netherlands have become one of the most dominant teams in sport. Since Rio, they have played 210 matches with just seven losses. They are also unbeaten in major tournaments since their defeat to GB in 2016. "The Dutch are probably a bit out of reach with their level," says Owsley. "But we have beaten the top teams recently."

The Bristolian, who combines her hockey with neuroscience consulting and behavioural research for global clients, was a former English school's 800m runner before taking to the team bonding forged in hockey.

Her younger brother, Freddie, was a 200m schoolboy athlete and touted for Team GB's athletics squad at Rio before a foot injury forced him out.

"Watching the events in Rio kind of saved me and seeing it was possible through Lily," says Freddie. "Andy Murray was flying the flag and your sister, who you saw growing up in a bunk bed, scored a goal in the Olympic final. It changed my mentality."

"It is probably why I have signed back to professional sport with the GB Rugby Sevens team and to give it a crack after four years in an office."

After his stress fracture, Freddie turned to a career in rugby and has since played for Bristol Bears and Edinburgh. Qualifying for Scotland through their grandmother, the 29-year-old will now play full time in Edinburgh and hopes to help steer Team GB to LA 2028.

Should she be selected for a fourth Games at LA, Lily will aim to equal Laura Roper's record as the most decorated GB hockey Olympian, male or female.

"There is a chance that me and Lily could end our careers at the Olympics," says Freddie. "What could be better?"

Where to watch

FIII Hockey World Cup YouTube: Channel 4 Sport 15-30 August

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Next week

A 'culture' or a 'problem'? It's just not cricket

England could have avoided troubles down under simply by tucking into French fancies

Giles Smith

During my years in cricket (a total of five summer terms at secondary school before we were allowed to give it up and 'do' tennis instead), I naturally gained a detailed understanding from the frontline of the way the sport works. And what I understood in particular was the absolute importance to the game of tea.

Cricket teas, I rapidly came to appreciate, were their own shining subset of the broader 'tea' category, and likely, if you were lucky, to feature Mr Kipling French fancies. With their unmistakable hi-vis icing, their uncompromisingly bright yellow sponge, and their potentially roof-lifting sugar hit, it's no exaggeration to say that these thrillingly individual cake portions bound me to the game back then, and I was not alone.

Incidentally, Mr Kipling French fancies are sometimes referred to as

'fondant fancies', but as people who truly know cake will tell you, that's the generic term, distinct from the registered trademark successfully applied for by Mr Kipling as long ago as 1967 and robustly traded under ever since. It's important to be accurate about these things – and also to accept no imitations.

Anyway, Mr Kipling French fancies practically defined my cricketing days. Would it be fair, accordingly, to describe the cricket I knew as having 'a cake culture'? Certainly, and without hesitation. Cake was embedded in the game we played. But did that mean, by extension, that we had 'a cake problem'? That's a far more complicated, even emotional, question.

Ben Stokes made headlines last week when he said that cricket as a whole has 'a drinking culture'. But even within that confession Stokes felt protectively inclined to rebut the notion that the England set-up has 'a drinking problem' – 'such an extreme thing to put on a team,' he said.

I guess the question then becomes: where does 'a culture' end and 'a problem' begin? Suppose, back in my day, we had gone on consuming French fancies after games, into the evening, and we had ended up in nightclubs, stuffed full of fondant

Have your cake and eat it: exceedingly good snacks were an indelible part of secondary school cricket. Getty Images

icing and getting into punch-ups with rugby players.

Or suppose we'd downed loads of Mr Kipling's finest one time and appeared on social media in videos shot in the Australian coastal resort of Noosa, clearly high on vanilla cream filling and covered in crumbs. Would we have been forced to concede that, in our case, 'a cake culture' was now 'a cake problem'?

I just don't know. Anyway, it's entirely hypothetical because we

weren't doing that at all. But maybe, on reflection, this whole culture/problem distinction is a bit of a blind alley for the debate we need to be having. I think back to a memorable exchange in ITV's recent World Cup coverage, where Mark Pougatch raised the 'amazing longevity now among footballers' – Ronaldo at 41, Messi at 39, Modric at 40, etc.

To which Gary Neville said, 'I'm going to keep it really simple, Mark, on this one. Players have stopped drinking alcohol. Honestly, I think it's a massive game-changer. Sports science, medical, of course: but honestly, alcohol brings injuries and that will end your career.'

And alongside him Duncan Ferguson said, 'Well, I've had 10 operations.'

'No more questions, your honour,' Pougatch replied.

The point is, in football these days, when people talk about 'a drinking culture' at a club, they're nearly always talking about something regrettable, often inherited by an incoming manager, that needs or needed eradication before things could get any better. The assumption is, fairly automatically, that, for elite football, 'a drinking culture' is 'a drinking problem'.

So what if the same thing applies to England cricket? We can go down all sorts of philosophical and semantic rabbit holes in this debate, but in the end maybe it's all irrelevant if we can agree to leave the potentially inflammatory term 'drinking problem' out of the conversation and simply admit that 'a drinking culture' is, for sport, its own complication, or certainly seems to have been for England cricket. It definitely simplifies the argument, no?

Anyway, another French fancy? Thought you'd never ask.

Home hopes at the athletics and Super Cup heralds football's return

It's also windfall season for pro golfers and the noisy sport of padel makes its London debut, writes Patrick Kidd

We have been so spoiled by elite competitions being held in Great Britain that it is a surprise to learn that this week is the first time we have hosted a European Athletics Championships as it heads to Birmingham.

Among the home hopes is Matt Hudson-Smith, winner of two European titles at 400m and two in the relay. The stand on the final bend in the Alexander Stadium has been named after the runner, as he began there at nine years old. He starts tomorrow at 11.55am, with the final on Wednesday at 8.50pm (all coverage on TNT Sports 3).

Katarina Johnson-Thompson goes in the heptathlon on Friday and Saturday, while Dina Asher-Smith seeks a third gold at 100m and 200m (Monday and Thursday, both at 9.50pm). Georgia Hunter Bell added the 800m Commonwealth Games title to the world indoors gold she won at 1,500m in March but has left the shorter distance to Keely Hodgkinson (800m final Friday, 9.46pm; 1,500m on Sunday, 9.13pm). The top clubs in football are still in pre-season friendly mode as their best players take a break after the World Cup. Today's fixtures include

Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City v Atletico Madrid, Liverpool v Monaco and Johor Darul Ta'zim v Chelsea, all streamed on the club websites.

Competition begins for the English top flight when Aston Villa play Paris Saint-Germain for the Uefa Super Cup. Villa won the trophy in 1982, while PSG were the first French champions when they beat Tottenham on penalties last August (Wednesday, TNT Sports 1, 8pm).

Golf now enters its ludicrously lucrative time of the year when the top 70 players on the PGA Tour qualify for three weeks of tournaments with a combined prize fund of $140m (£104m). Tommy Fleetwood went into the FedEx Cup play-offs in ninth place last year and came third, fourth and first to earn a massive payday. The Fitzpatrick

brothers might do well this year, with Matt in third place and Alex in 12th. The play-offs begin with the St Jude Championship (Thursday, Sky Sports Golf, 7pm).

Padel, a sport that took the net from tennis and the walls of squash, was invented in Mexico in 1969 and has boomed here in recent years. In 2019, there were 72 British courts; now there are more than 1,500. It is a notoriously noisy sport thanks to the solid rackets and glass walls.

London is hosting its first Premier Padel tournament at Olympia, though with Britain's best man at No 173 in the world rankings and its best woman just inside the top 100, the home challenge didn't last long. Spain and Argentina dominate. If you want to see what it is all about, the finals are this afternoon (TNT Sports 4, 2pm).

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THE OBSERVER

09|08|26 the new review

Russian

resistance

Asne Seierstad meets the woman standing up to Putin

Game of

Thrones

Barbara Ellen: the TV drama comes to the RSC stage

Blame

Hollywood

David Thomson on how the movies created Trump

The film star & the novelist

Rachel Cusk's controversial new book gets inside the life of an A-list friend. Megan Nolan asks where the truth lies

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2

Agenda

The sharpest writing every Sunday for arts, science, books and ideas

29

Agenda 4-7

• In real life Xavier Greenwood ventures inside an Imax projection booth; Laura Cumming searches for the perfect beach read; John Simpson is heckled; and Simon Barnes visits Dunwich Heath
• The grid Ishiuchi Miyako and the things her mother left behind
• Interview David Thomson on how the movies created Trump

Critics 15-23

• Barbara Ellen goes behind the scenes of the Game of Thrones play
• Miranda Sawyer recaps rock'n'roll history with Tim Booth
• Wendy Ide sees Tove Jansson's grief classic brought to life on screen
• Rowan Moore on what we can learn from Iranian architecture

Features 8-14

• Cover story Megan Nolan asks whether Rachel Cusk's new novel is too close to the truth for comfort
• Interview Åsne Seierstad meets Maria Andreyevna, the woman leading a protest against the mobilisation of Russian civilians
• John Naughton on why AI companies might be buying books published before 2022

Books 24-29

• Edith Hall reviews Orator, a new biography of the Roman statesman Cicero from Catharine Edwards
• Daisy Lynch samples the delights of Eli Davies's The Spinster Cookbook
• Killian Fox picks The Nightingales as his graphic novel of the month
• Susie Dent on Death Writ Large, her latest murder mystery novel

Puzzles & Television

30-40

• Everyman crossword, sudokus, Gemelo, chess, guess the picture, cinema connect, Lexipedia quiz and Goldilocks crossword
• The week's television and radio highlights
• Barbara Ellen on Possession, TV's answer to Sinners

Follow us on Instagram @ObsNewReview; email us at review@observer.co.uk

Contributors

• Åsne Seierstad (p11) is the author of The Bookseller of Kabul. She spent two years in Russia writing Never Say War, which is out this month.

• Edith Hall (p24) is professor of ancient history at Durham University. Her book Facing Down the Furies won the International Hellenic prize.

• Ammar Kalia (p26) writes about music for The Observer New Review. His first novel, A Person is a Prayer, was published in 2024.

• Megan Nolan (p8) lives in New York. Her novel Acts of Desperation was described by Karl Ove Knauogård as a "love story like no other".

• Rowan Moore (p20) is The Observer's architecture critic. He is the author, most recently, of Property: The Myth that Built the World.

The big picture

Oscar Niemeyer's Hotel Nacional, once the height of modernity, appears like an 'old, rusty rocket' in Vincent Catala's early morning photograph

On the cover: Rachel Cusk by Getty Images and Natalie Portman by WireImage for Rogers & Cowan

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3

What's striking about this photograph taken by Vincent Catala in Rio de Janeiro, besides the semi-derelict Babel-like tower at its centre, is how strangely empty it is. Usually in images of Rio, and Brazil more generally, we're accustomed to seeing lots of people – in densely populated favelas, crowded beaches, thronging carnivals. Here, if it weren't for the lights in the hillside settlement to the far left and along the seaside avenue to the right, we

might imagine a post-apocalyptic metropolis from which all human life has been excised.

Catala, whose long-gestating Île Brésil series is showing at the Musée de la Photographie in Brussels, took the photo in 2016. He had moved to Brazil from France in 2008, and throughout his 18-year stay he was drawn to sparsely populated districts at the edges of big cities. In Rio, this was the West Zone, far from Ipanema and Copacabana.

The tower in this image, just over the border in the South Zone, is the Hotel Nacional, completed in 1972 from designs by architect Oscar Niemeyer, whose surname graces the avenue below. Viewed as ultra-modern in its heyday, it closed in 1995 and fell into disrepair.

When Catala came upon it, the hotel was in the slow process of being renovated. Its dystopic appearance attracted him, as did its 108-metre height, unusual for

the area. He talked the owner of a nearby hotel into letting him access a high-up balcony and photographed the tower at 4am, hence the absence of people.

"It looks like a rocket – an old, rusty rocket," Catala says of the tower in the picture, its top lopped off by his wide-angle lens. During its derelict years, it was frequented by squatters and graffiti artists (Justin Bieber was arrested for spraying the interior in 2013). Catala heard

tales of wild parties in rooms 50 metres up. Now the hotel is open again. "It's completely clean and has lost the character it had," Catala says. But the building's disreputable midlife crisis is preserved in this image for all to see.

Vincent Catala: Île Brésil is at the Musée de la Photographie de Charleroi in Brussels until 27 September. Catala's book of the same name is published by Dunes Editions.

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

In Real Life

Observations & scenes from the world beyond your phone screen

AT THE MOVIES

Meeting the projectionist

He works in darkness but everything he creates is light. Michael Ford, chief projectionist at the BFI Imax, struggles to name his favourite film, but he does have a favourite cinema. It was where he began his career in Southend-on-Sea. "I went to the guys knocking it down and asked if I could have a brick as a souvenir," Ford says over the sound of a jet engine. "When the technology of Jurassic Park becomes reality, I can clone my cinema."

That jet engine is not actually a jet engine. It is the sound of the Imax projector, a one-tonne hulk of grey machinery, which beams 5ft 7in of film per second on to a screen almost as tall as five London buses. A glass lens plate sucks a frame against the lens, holds it in place, lets it go, then moves on to the next frame. "When there is something wrong it will tell you," Ford says. "You start hearing weird noises."

The full print for The Odyssey, which was filmed entirely on Imax cameras, is 11 miles long and made up of 250,000 individual frames. It weighs as much as a small car. As I walk towards the projection booth at the BFI, I pass three silver flight cases with "PROPERTY OF IMAX" written on them. A few months ago, these cases carried three film reels from California to London, where they were checked and spliced together by the team. The BFI Imax is one of only 41 cinemas in the world able to show the film as it was shot.

I arrive in the booth midway through a screening. Below me, through a glass window, are 500 cinema-goers. Ford has been here since 7am and is already thinking about the next show. In total there will be nearly 200 screenings of The Odyssey, with some people flying thousands of miles to see it here at the BFI.

Ford's life as a projectionist began 48 years ago. Back then reels were joined together with cement and the crucial part of the job was to master changeovers, the task of seamlessly switching between the reels during a screening. "We were like cavemen," Ford says. "If I went back then and showed my colleagues this machine, it'd be science fiction."

Thanks to metal discs called take-up platters, which look like giant cake stands, movies shown on film can now be assembled in a single reel that rolls through the projector without changeovers. Ford still has anxiety dreams.

The most common enemy of a projectionist is dust, lest it speckle shots of the Aegean Sea or give Matt Damon dandruff. The booth is kept at a certain humidity, while a contraption on the projector cleans the lens like a windscreen wiper. Other issues include falling to sync up the sound, which is uploaded to a separate system with a CD-Rom drive, or misaligning even one frame. The true nightmare for Ford would be if the cooling system malfunctioned and one of the 15,000 watt lamps inside the projector exploded. The bulbs can get as hot as the surface of the sun. "We won't even go there," he says.

After the credits come to an end, Ford presses stop, the tail of The Odyssey print flops unceremoniously onto the floor, and for the first time there is silence. The plane has landed. Screening number one of the day, 52 of the month, is complete. Ford unlaces the print. Then it is time to clean the beast. When that is done, Ford carefully relaces the print through a maze of rollers and sprockets as if assembling a marble run. He looks through the lens to check everything is in sync, puts in the rolling loop needed to move the reel, and moves the projector back into position. It's time to take off.

A few days later, I watch The Odyssey in the auditorium. "We age and you're growing old with it" is how Ford described our relationship to analogue film. It is only when I watch the movie that I understand what he means. One of Ford's colleagues, Elise Rethore,

has told me to watch out for the scene when Telemachus is shooting birds. There is a scratch on the wide shot from the original print. It disappears in the narrow shot and then returns. The Odyssey's first wrinkle. When I see it, it takes every ounce of restraint not to shout out in recognition. I may see it again in another 50 years. You may too. Xavier Greenwood

NOTES FROM ABROAD

Beach reading

In the high heat of a Normandy summer, a woman in shades is reading Annie Ernaux in a deckchair by the sea. The tide shifts in her lenses. Next to her, a tanned old seago is deep in a volume of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, in French translation, while a small swimmer in a towel, drawn up to his dripping ears, hangs over a comic. They are all visitors to a large wooden beach hut that casts its benevolent shadow over their reading. Lire à la Plage is lettered along its bright side.

Read by the Beach happens every year during those long summer holidays known as les grandes vacances. Run by the lyrically named Département de la Seine-Maritime, 12 little seaside libraries appear like beacons along the Normandy coast from Le Havre to Dieppe. Once they had orange slanted roofs and bright red chairs; now the livery is fresh blue and white. Each offers more than 1,000 publications as well as a librarian to encourage and advise. There is only one rule, fastidiously observed, which is that no volume should ever leave the beach.

I came across this startling scene at Sainte-Adresse near Le Havre, a couthy little commune where Sarah Bernhardt once built a house and the Belgian government lived in comfortable exile during the First World War. I love everything about it: the bent heads and motionless bodies, the transited minds and amazing hush. Some readers were regulars to Lire à la Plage, others, like me, just happened by. But while I jittered over my espresso at a nearby cafe, checking texts, the news, the speeding moments, they had lost any sense of time.

I have no idea what to do with myself, beyond a certain point, at the beach. We swim, walk the tide, inhale the vital air. There is the

"We were like cavemen. If I went back then and showed my colleagues this machine, it'd be science fiction"

miniature world of glassy rock pools and the treasury of tiny crabs and sea-washed shells. But thereafter? As a child, huddled inside a windbreak on a Borders beach, I used to read through the damp afternoon, badly overexcited by each second-hand Puffin edition. It is the same with some girls here today, tanned legs hooked over the side of their deckchairs, turning the pages with hair-sucking absorption.

But grown up, I have too often reached the beach with the wrong book. The Booker winner turns out to be cold and unfulfilled; the exhaustive investigation palls; the famous masterpiece trips you up on every hard-won holiday. I have now failed to rise to Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian on the crowded sands of Estoril, on an island off Tunisia, among the Maltese rocks and, most recently, back on that Borders beach with no pathetic excuses about wilting heat. Still, I have the superior example of Annie Ernaux herself, who said she felt no affinity for her compatriot's fiction even while winning the Prix Marguerite Yourcenar.

Imagine, now, the joy of being able to put that volume back in your bag with the sun cream and the tepid water. Imagine being able to go back inside one of these little libraries, two steps from your chair, and swap your book for another. It is true that the something-for-everyone rule prevails. There is manga, young adult fiction and plenty of romantic novels. But there is also Watership Down and Madeline, Flaubert and Michel Houellebecq.

The French woman reading Ernaux's The Years in dark glasses could so easily be the narrator's real-life counterpart. A loner on the beach, suave and intent, she holds the paperback in manicured hands. The cream of the Gallimard cover is impressively scuffed, with what looks like the faint ring of a coffee cup on the back. Ernaux's autobiographical masterpiece, which starts right here with her early years in Normandy, was published in 2008. So it is entirely possible that people have been reading this book in these little libraries by the sea ever since. For the marvellous invention of Lire à la Plage turns 20 this year. Laura Cumming

ON THE STAGE

The wisdom of hecklers

An inn of some kind has stood on the site of the grade II-listed Hoxley & Porter bar in Islington, north London, for nearly 400 years. So I don't doubt that the archetype of a ruddy, garrulous gentleman, deep in his cups and offering unwanted opinions, is

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familiar to those old walls.

In just that time-honoured tradition, I recently heard one man pipe up at an open-mic comedy night held there (the night is called Is-It-Lington) and yes, they know it's a terrible name). The heckler offered every act his own punchlines and unsolicited advice on what might have been funnier. The man had, I confirmed later, never 'done comedy' himself.

I arrived in Edinburgh for the Fringe festival last week, along with men (and probably some women) from around the world who are no doubt preparing to flood the Old Town with similar drunken heckles. I asked comedians here for memorable bits of unsolicited advice they've received.

Alex Kitson, who is taking his show Now Look Here to the festival, said he had been talking to a fellow comedian after a work-in-progress when an audience member asked if he could sit in, watch and say nothing. 'He immediately went back on this,' Kitson told me. 'His biggest piece of advice was that I should do more material about how tasty and nutritious human breast milk is. He used to drink his ex's and said it's not only tasty but phenomenally good for you. I hadn't made any jokes about breast milk.'

Irish stand-up Gearid Farrelly, meanwhile, recalls getting ready to go on stage when an audience member came up to explain the key to getting a laugh. 'He leaned in and said, 'They think a story is going one way, but in actual fact it's going another way...' So... the absolute basics of comedy. 'After the show,' Farrelly recalls, 'when I was walking out, he said: 'See, you took my advice.' I'm sure he is somewhere now telling a pilot that he shouldn't plunge the plane into the sea.'

Abby Govindan, a Houston comedian of Indian heritage making her Fringe debut with Pushing 30, was fed up with Indian-American men offering comedy tips, which she initially took as being aimed just at her. 'I was venting to the other comics backstage. Then all of them were like, 'Actually, Indian men come out to us after our shows and give us advice on how we can improve our jokes too.' It's kind of refreshing – and maybe even woke,' she says. 'They're like equal-opportunity annoying.'

Some audience members have video prompts. Milo Edwards, who is performing his show Catamaran in Edinburgh, said: 'A middle-aged lady came up to me after the show and said, 'I really enjoyed that, but have you ever tried doing anything a bit more like this?' And then she spun round her iPad and showed me James Acaster on Live at the Apollo.'

Terrible advice is not the sole preserve of audience members, however, as Canadian comic Phil Nichol, whose show this year is

Illustrations by Oscar Ingham

called Aren't We Lucky, discovered. 'In 2006, at the Edinburgh Fringe, a very powerful comedy agent told me that ending my show by getting naked would kill my career,' he said: 'That same year, I won the Edinburgh comedy award for The Naked Racist. Power isn't always as smart as it thinks it is.' John Simpson

COUNTRY LIFE On Dunwich Heath

It began as a hunt for nightjars; it turned out to be the concert of a lifetime – and it seems now like a requiem. It was 10pm, the sky clear and starry, the air spookily still. It was proper country dark. We stood for a long time in silence and let the night close in around us. And then the nightjar lifted its voice in song: was it really a bird making that eerie radiophonic walling? A nightingale struck up: one of the world's most complex birdsongs. Then a curious musical rasping: a natterjack toad, of all things. A stone curlew added a banshee howl, followed by the booming of the bittern from the reedbeds below the heathland.

This was Dunwich Heath, a place recently devastated by a fire that burned for damn near a week and destroyed 150 hectares (370 acres) of heather-clad lowland heath. A black land, a stinking black land: 'The acrid smell; it's not just smoke – you sense that animals have died in the flames,' said Adam Rowlands, Suffolk area manager of the RSPB, which owns the adjoining site of Minsmere nature reserve.

My first wildlife book was set in Minsmere: Flying in the Face of Nature, published more than 30 years ago. It was about a year full of bitterns and avocets and nightingales. Beyond the reserve and east is the North Sea; to the north, the heathland of Dunwich rises from the reedbeds.

I moved to East Anglia 30 years ago: Dunwich is part of my past and my present. But while I take all of this personally, I'm also capable of a more objective view.

So there are two things to consider. The first is that, although 150 hectares sounds a lot, it's not a great deal compared with, say, the hectarage of rainforest destroyed daily (one estimate:

18,200 hectares). The second is that there are plenty of worse things going on: this wasn't war. No humans were killed.

And yet we live in one of the world's most nature-deprived countries. East Suffolk is going through a long-term process of destruction with the building of the Sizewell C nuclear power station: losing a bit more wild land is a touch cruel.

Lowland heath is a rare thing: more than 80% has been destroyed over the past couple of centuries. What's left is rich with wildlife, human history and human need. The fire is particularly bad news for heathland specialists such as the Dartford warbler, with 4,100 pairs now in the UK, according to the latest RSPB survey.

Do I hear you say: 'So what?' Well, I won't preach a sermon on biodiversity. I'll just point out that the environment is not the optional extra that politicians tell us about; the environment is where we all live.

On a nice day in August, Dunwich Heath is usually full of people seeking peace, nature, wildness, space and meaning in the purple heather; the sea snoring at the base of what we in East Anglia call cliffs under the immense skies we specialise in. If you need to monetise this, consider the annual NHS spending on mental health in England in 2025-26: about £13bn.

Small populations of a species in a dwindling habitat are by definition vulnerable. How many nightjar nests were destroyed? If there are any miraculous survivors, they will return next year to a place where they can no longer make a living.

Nature recovers. That's its job. Rowlands reckons it will take 25 years: two and a half decades of deprivation for the people of Suffolk, the millions of visitors and all those non-human species.

The fire came in yet another heatwave, with firefighters suffering from heat exhaustion under their protective gear. Last week, Reading University announced that we have just been through the hottest, driest and sunniest July since its own records began 120 years ago.

Dunwich Heath burned like a torch to spell out the truth: the climate crisis is real, is happening now and is changing the world. It's about nightjars. It's also about the future of the planet and its dominant species. Simon Barnes

STILL SHOWING Observer critics' takes on the events not to miss

Art

Frank Bowling: Driven to Draw is at the Royal Drawing School, London, until 22 August. The exhibition covers 'more than 60 years of the artist's work, including preparatory sketches and collages drawn from his archive, alongside completed works on paper and paintings'.

Caitlin Macdonald

Film

'There's an almost weightless quality to the way Tom Holland carries himself that works supremely well here' – in Spider-Man: Brand/New Day, which is still showing in cinemas nationwide. Wendy Ide

Classical

'The muted set and costumes – with occasional flashes of colour – act like a stencil, allowing the madness of the action to move freely around and within.' Antoine of Naxos continues at Glyndebourne, Lewes, East Sussex, until 29 August. Fiona Maddocks

NOW BOOKING

Pop

Tickets are now on sale for Simple Things festival, which takes place across multiple venues in Bristol city centre on 7 November. Guest curated by artist Jeremy Defer and nu-jazz pioneer Shabaka, among others, the eclectic line-up includes American rapper Mykki Blanco, art-pop duo Mermaid Chunky and Australian electronic group the Avalanches.

Theatre

August Wilson's Fences, which won the 1987 Pulitzer prize for drama and the 1987 Tony award for best play, returns to the stage this autumn in a new production directed by Daniel Bailey and starring Ray Fearon and Madeline Appiah as Troy and Rose. Touring Leeds, Oxford, London, Manchester and Nottingham, from 11 September to 14 November.

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observer.co.uk^{}[] 09.08.26

Agenda

The grid

These moving photographs by Ishiuchi Miyako explore how everyday items can bring us closer to the people we have lost

Old lipsticks, worn shoes, a brush with hair still tangled in the bristles. These might seem like inconsequential items, but in photographer Ishiuchi Miyako's affecting series Mother's they are beautiful totems left behind by a deceased parent.

The 79-year-old Miyako, who shoots on film, is considered one of Japan's foremost photographers. A new book, Traces, tracks 50 years of her thoughtfully rendered subjects.

In the foreword, Miyako writes: "[I]t conceived that I could capture time, atmosphere, sound, smell and memory, all invisible to the eye, in photographs. I don't know if the invisibilities are evident, but I am conscious of their presence lurking behind the surfaces and in the depths of the images."

In Mother's, taken between 2000 and 2005, this means embodying

the intangible nature of familial love and bereavement. Turning to colour photography for the first time in her career in order to accurately convey the tone and texture of a lipstick, Miyako in turn accomplishes a vividness of feeling. As she notes later in the book: "What I have now are only the things that my mother left behind for me. I bring them out into the light one by one, to sear their image onto photographs, as a farewell to her."

The result is a project so intimate that Miyako has said she has retroactively apologised to her late mother for exhibiting photographs of private items such as underwear. But it's exactly this haunting, specific storytelling that makes much of Miyako's oeuvre so moving. Tara Joshi

Ishiuchi Miyako: Traces, published by Thames & Hudson (£50), is out now

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Agenda

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

7

David Thomson

Film critic and author, 85

The veteran film critic on why Trump is a 'movie man', and how film is warping our perception of reality – and damaging society as a whole

David Thomson is one of the world's most respected writers on cinema. He is the author of more than 40 books, including the seminal New Biographical Dictionary of Film, which Geoff Dyer has labelled 'the great literary achievement of our time'. Born in the UK, he moved to America to teach at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, and then relocated to San Francisco, where he still lives. His latest book, A Sudden Flicker of Light, is 'a revisionist history of the movies' that holds the medium responsible for loosening our grip on reality and undermining our belief in humanism.

When you set out to write this book, did you intend it to be quite so critical of cinema's social influence?

No, I didn't anticipate the intensity of feeling. I'm bound to say I think that was considerably stimulated by our president and the speed with which our culture – I mean the US, although it affects the world – has been taught that it doesn't have guardrails.

Donald Trump haunts this book, although he's not mentioned until halfway through. What is it about him that embodies, for you, the corrupting aspects of film?

My first book in 1967 was called Movie Man and it had the notion that the movies, as a process, were changing the way we behaved. Donald Trump is a movie man in the sense that I think it is his single ambition, beyond making money, to be in an ongoing movie. You can't watch him without seeing all the things he has picked up from movie history, and the whole authority that

comes from being on camera. And when he is not on camera himself, when he's not playing golf, he is watching television. He's obsessed with watching screens.

You argue that cinema, with its 'lustrous images', serves to confuse our footing in reality. But isn't that the job of storytelling?

Film is a mass medium that has reached far more people than, for example, the theatre. And if you watch for long enough, you begin to feel a lack of responsibility, a helplessness. You become a spectator. Film has helped change our relationship with other people. I see that as part of the move towards human beings feeling less human.

As well as celebrating film, and cautioning us about its desensitising effects, the book honours literature. Is writing your first love?

A long time ago I suffered from writer's block, which is a very real

thing, but I was rescued by habit. Now I'm at a point where I can miss a day of writing occasionally. But if I don't write something almost every day, I start to get ill. Ill in the head rather than physically ill. The process of composition composes me.

How did writing The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, which has more than 1,400 entries, affect your writing? It was written in a small upstairs room in a cottage in Maudlin in Sussex, where we lived at the time. I had to do about five or six people a week, which meant one person a day. And I knew that if I didn't keep to that schedule, then I wasn't going to get the book done. So it had a disciplining effect.

It's full of strong opinions. Are there any film-makers or actors you've encountered who've been offended by what you wrote about them? John Schlesinger and I looked at each other across the room at a

When Trump is not on camera, he's watching TV. He's obsessed with screens

party in San Francisco, and he had a sour grin on his face. He decided he was not going to say a word to me. He cut me, which I understood because on the page I had cut him. If you are a critic, it's absurd to think that people won't be critical of you.

Has TV supplanted cinema as the preeminent medium of moving images? My television screen, your television screen; they're not really televisions. They are movie screens in the house. If you were to write a history of American film in the 21st century so far, it would be crazy to take on such a task and not acknowledge and talk about things like The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Ozark. They require a quite different kind of attention or participation. If you're serious about the moving image, then you have to recognise that.

Many film critics – François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Bogdanovich, Paul Schrader – became film-makers. Were you ever tempted?

I've always been tempted. I studied at the London School of Film Technique, and, at a very fundamental level, I learned how to do certain film-making tasks. I've written several screenplays, one of which, a documentary about the making of Gone With the Wind, did very well. I'm too old for it now but there was a period of my life where I had film ideas and I knew directors. I did a screenplay for Scorsese. He didn't want to pursue it, but a few years later, he made Casino, which was related to it. I'm not suggesting remotely that he took my idea, but it was about Las Vegas. I see the potential for movies everywhere.

You live in California, but in San Francisco rather than Los Angeles, the place you've written so much about. Was that a conscious decision? We came to San Francisco because my wife got a job here. I can get to LA in six hours. It's not a physical distance; it's an emotional distance. I'm very fond of LA, but I have a sense that if we'd gone there when we first came to California, I would inevitably have become a screenwriter. And I wouldn't have written so many books – perhaps that would have been a good thing!

What was the last great film that you saw at the cinema? I would say [Clint Bentley's] Train Dreams is the last awesome film I saw. Sentimental Value [directed by Joachim Trier]. I think I saw before that. But Train Dreams is the one that I've seen three times now. It sticks in my mind, and it still has a mysterious quality that I find enthralling.

A Sudden Flicker of Light by David Thomson is published by Allen Lane (£25). Order a copy for £22.50 at The Observer Shop (10% off RRP). Delivery charges may apply

'I see the potential for movies everywhere': David Thomson. The New York Times/Redox/eyevins

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observer.co.uk

09.08.26

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achel Cusk has written a new novel, Life of M, in which the existence of a famous actor interrupts and is interrupted by mundane reality. Cusk, one of the most acclaimed

writers of her age, is known for metabolising the people around her for use in her shrewd, sometimes brutal fiction. Her publisher pulped the initial run of Cusk's 2009 memoir The Last Supper, after a man the author had encountered on holiday recognised a depiction of himself and strongly objected to the characterisation, threatening a libel action. The new book, Life of M is widely said to be based on the Oscar-winning actor Natalie Portman, a real-life acquaintance of Cusk's. Splashy news stories have quoted anonymous insiders supposedly close to both Cusk and Portman describing how Portman feels about the "betrayal": either agonised or perfectly indifferent, depending on the insider.

Reading Life of M recalled a memory of mine. In 2022, I can't

Rachel Cusk and the limits of truth-telling

The protagonist of the author's new novel, Life of M, bears a striking resemblance to Natalie Portman. Megan Nolan asks how much of it is true – and how much that matters

be sure exactly when, I had an exhilarating encounter involving Cusk and a famous actor. I was sitting on the patio of a private club in London of which I had temporarily become a member. I was hoping to be a different sort of person; different from the real person I privately and correctly thought myself to be.

I had published my first novel, Acts of Desperation, not long before, and expected its moderate but concrete success to transform me into a civilised and well-to-do woman. As I often have done since childhood, I was convinced by the idea that performing a certain set of actions often enough would make me into a person who could do them naturally, without thought. An ex once told me that, if your finances were dwindling, sometimes the best thing to do was behave a bit flashily, spend like you had no worries, and somehow this signal to the world would take effect and tell fortune to favour you. Terrible advice, which nevertheless had the ring of truth to me, perhaps because it allowed me to do things such as pay through the nose for insipid cocktails in a members' club.

I sat on the patio and smoked and began reading Cusk's novel Transit, the second of her Outline trilogy. After a little while, the glare of sunlight in my eyeline was obscured and I looked up to see a tall and strikingly beautiful woman smiling down at me. Like all female celebrities I've seen in person, she wasn't just attractive, but radiant in a particular, elusive way, honeyed and moneyed. She asked me for a light. What a thrill it is, always, for me to see a beautiful woman older than I am smoking a cigarette. Taking my matches, she glanced down at what I was reading and grasped the cover of the book and looked at me with a new seriousness and said: "I absolutely love Rachel Cusk."

She was the actor Natascha McElhone, who I knew primarily from her part in The Truman Show, the 1998 film I had compulsively rewatched as a child. Jim Carrey plays a man, Truman, whose whole life is a reality television show, unbeknownst to him. Each event he experiences has been plotted and designed to please the audience who have been watching him since his birth. McElhone plays, brilliantly, a woman who exists in the real world, the world of watchers, a woman whose alluring and transgressive presence in Truman's life leads him to realise the falsity he has been existing within.

I didn't know Cusk's work well enough at the time for the interaction to strike me as especially apropos. I was mostly stunned to see a woman I knew from the various televisions and laptops I had watched that film on emerging into my material realm. It does strike me now, though, as I consider Life of M, that of all the ways I may have been introduced to Cusk's novels, it was a lucky turn that I was reading them while an actor who I knew for shattering false realities came over to muddle mine.

Life of M is a short and electrifying novel, in which Cusk's unnamed narrator proposes to M, the famous actor, that she may write her "autobiography". But what's an autobiography written by a third party?

"She liked the idea. She's a good sport," Cusk writes.

"Would you just make it up?" the actor asks.

The scenes from M's life in the book are often to do with the strangeness of celebrity jarring what might otherwise be ordinary life, and the inherent, comical indignity of such an existence.

On the first page: "We knew a couple of people in common. One of them told me a funny story about a dinner they'd attended at a restaurant, where M's bodyguard had insisted that she change places with another film star, who was older and less famous, because he was worried that M's position at the table exposed her to danger."

Soon, M effortlessly compels that a locked hotel garden closed for

winter be opened so she and the narrator might sit in it, moments after the narrator – just an ordinary person – has been told that it must stay shut: "This was how people and things behaved around her," Cusk writes. "Reality became malleable, was always giving way and changing its rules."

If M's renown had been left vague enough to be any famous actor, the book would have remained what it still is: a deeply enjoyable addition to Cusk's canon concerning brilliant and divided women who are not-quite-willing participants in the worlds they have had a hand in creating. As is, it has become a media sensation in advance of publication, because M is clearly based at least in part on Portman. She and Cusk have a public association. Portman has chosen two of Cusk's novels, Second Place and Parade, for her book club and has shared recorded conversations between the two women about those novels.

In Life of M, the friendship between the narrator and the famous actor is warm and mutually admiring but not especially intimate – a coffee here, a group dinner there – and M has many other friends. In reality, we have no way of knowing, unless one of them decides to tell us, how active or close the "actual" friendship between Cusk and Portman is or was.

Last month, the Unherd journalist Valerie Stivers wrote about the Portman connection, opening with a strange and snide assessment of the actor's intelligence. She went on to report that Portman is "said" to be unhappy with the book and its publication, but provided no source for this assertion. Given that Portman has made no comment, Stivers is presumably basing this on the final few pages of the novel in which M sits the narrator down, having been given the work in progress to read. M is brusque and chilly, for the first time, as she conveys her unhappiness at having been inaccurately portrayed. But, the narrator objects: it isn't really her at all – as a writer, she has just used certain things to help make up a character.

It's not much of a scoop to reveal the Portman association because there is little attempt to obfuscate her in the book. In fact, details are added by Cusk presumably with the intention to reveal the connection: "M had told me that starring in a film as a child had immediately brought her childhood to an end," Cusk writes, before describing what is recognisably Portman's role in Léon: The Professional, which was released when the actor was 13. Later, there are similarly overt references to M starring in a film about ballerinas (Portman played Nina in Darren Aronofsky's Black Susan), and being the face of a beauty brand (Portman has appeared in Disc's fragrance and beauty campaigns since 2010).

Continued on page 10

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Rachel Cusk, who discussed her novels Second Place and Parade with Natalie Portman, left, as part of the actor's book club. Rii Schrom/ ex577e. Winstnage for Rogers & Cowan

Cover story

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While the scenes and exchanges that make up Life of M are largely quiet ones, driven by conversation, the likes of the Hollywood Reporter have been quick to present the novel as a salacious takedown of a hugely famous actor by a famous novelist. This is not what the book actually does, but that won't stop some from presenting it as such. There is little information about Portman's real life that could satisfyingly be gleaned here. Instead, Cusk is most successful at imagining the thoughts and private experiences of M as they occur within the layered structures she maintains to keep the world at bay.

Cusk's writing has always been compelled by such structures. Her memoirs Aftermath and A Life's Work, about her divorce and her experience of mothering, were met by critics with both generous praise and excited viciousness. She wrote, for example, with uncomfortable candour about her disgust towards her husband's lack of career: 'I had hated my husband's unwaged domesticity just as much as I had hated my mother's; and he, like her, had claimed to be contented with his lot. Why had I hated it so? Because it represented dependence.'

She was cold, the critics and various Moment users thought, she was unsparing, she was inhuman, to write about her ex-bushband and her children in the way she did. (As we all do eventually, she is getting her generational comeuppance: her daughter Albertine Clarke is now a novelist too).

Cusk's work preceded and informed the plethora of writing about ambivalent motherhood, which now feels like a standard feature of contemporary literature. Her fictional Outline trilogy was a key intervention in the literary landscape, almost universally admired. It tilted the possibilities and boosted the appeal of autofiction. It has also been read by her longtime fans as a reaction to the hostile reception that greeted her even more directly autobiographical memoirs. When I asked a writer friend of mine, Jean Garnett, who is perhaps the most ardent fan of Cusk's I know, she said: 'The way I see it, she sort of got taken apart and then rose from the ashes with the Outline trilogy which is just incredible I think; all three, must-read.'

The trilogy, which follows a writer named Faye after a divorce as she travels to writing conferences and rebuilds her life, does indeed read as a rebuttal to those who faulted Cusk for narcissism. It's relentless in its passivity, and goes so far with dogged accounts of the often trivial behaviour and words of those around Faye that it begins to feel violent: 'I said that, on the contrary, I had come

Life of M is Cusk's 13th novel. Carlotta Cortiana/ Camera Press

to believe more and more in the virtues of passivity, of living a life as unmarked by self-will as possible.'

Those three books of Cusk's are hypnotic for me, though not necessarily in a way that I like or appreciate. I was challenged about this once, by Jean, my friend, the Cusk-head. Why do I revere Karl Ove Knausgård, the Norwegian writer most devoted to the detailing of domestic banalities, but fail to appreciate Cusk? It's simple, if not easy, to answer. Part of why I took so hard to Knausgård was that in his six My Struggle novels he often makes himself look pathetic. Cusk, to my mind, does not make herself look pathetic. She seems absolute at every step, even when failing.

And yet, of course, men often have the luxury of nuanced self-deprecation, where women don't have that luxury, not in the same way. The pathetic woman becomes all about her patheticness, while the sensitive man's greatness is only made more delicious when he reveals his patheticness. Am I saying, then, I need Cusk. I need women, to be abject for me to read them with good spirit? If I am, I don't like that I am.

You have to embrace that old trope about the requirement of a splinter of ice in a writer's heart

I Life of M disappoints those hoping only for some kind of tell-all about Portman, anyone interested in Cusk's writing will find a precious new iteration of her project here. I was interested to find myself feeling defensive of M as I read – despite the tenor of the press coverage, I think she comes off as a mostly likable and admirable character – and this made me feel some kind of sentimental protectiveness over the realm of friendship itself that I do not instinctively feel about marriage and family life. There is something churlish in me that still sees marriage and child-rearing as essentially dud deals for women, situations that we have the right or even duty to criticise. Friendship, conversely, is sacred to me, empty of gendered obligation and given with a heart that can afford to be free in its desire.

It is almost shocking, reading this book, to think Cusk hadn't previously employed celebrity as a way of examining these ideas. A person jabbing at reality and finding it wanting; reality washing over a person all of a sudden against their will. These existing Cusk concerns are given a tight, overt presentation through the lens of fame. The novelist's and the celebrity's confusions quickly appear comparable. There is the writer's ability to jolt and refashion events on the page, and the celebrity's ability to do the same in reality; the writer's inability to accurately parse truth as it exists beyond what is useful to them for their story, the celebrity's comparable blind spots.

At the book's conclusion, we see M disquieted by the representation the narrator has given her in the work so far, and the novelist's response: 'I don't like the way you portray me, she said. Actually, it's hurtful. But it isn't you, I said. It isn't anyone.'

She looked at me coldly.' As Cusk very well knows, portraying anybody in any sort of writing is dicey business. You have to not care. You have to embrace that hoary old trope about the requirement of a splinter of ice in a writer's heart. Or you can care very much, and always check with each person you refer to, identifiable or not. Most of us writers are somewhere in the middle, knowing we will likely never be courageous – or famous – enough to really risk alienating the people we love, or like, or even just see around.

Reading Cusk or Knausgård, reading any writer who is genuinely brave enough to really go for it, is to be reminded that even those of us writers who are not so brave are going to be projected upon regardless. There were plenty of people I worried about offending after publishing my first novel; people I loved, who I knew would see themselves in some of the characters I'd written. There were some difficult conversations, but as it happened, the only people who confidently contacted me to declare they saw themselves in

my work were people I scarcely remembered and certainly wasn't writing about.

Men I hadn't thought about since I was 16 were proclaiming their titillated offence that I'd based a character on them, when all they had in common with my character was being male and owning a bicycle. It was almost cute, and it was also annoying and offensive, and made it clear to me it didn't matter what I did or wrote, people would still bring themselves into it.

Last year, I noticed that someone had edited my Wikipedia page to say that my first novel was about an artist with whom I had been in a short relationship. It wasn't the artist himself who had done so; he had never been as concerned with our brief time together as I was. I could tell where this intervention had come from, whoever made it. I had written an essay years before about that real-life artist, though I didn't name him, in which I'd mentioned his height and that he would often grasp at the air with delicate, minute movements when describing something. I had gone on to give this mannerism to my tall character, but the character in my book simply wasn't him. The person I had created in my novel wasn't at all like him. It was just a guy I had made up to make a story work.

In our oversaturated culture, we, stupider than ever because we have the illusion of a life in which we could know everything, now approach culture of all kinds from a bizarrely cynical stance. We keep peering at those few remaining artists that exist to inspect them for disingenuity or accuse them of laziness if we identify in their work familiar tropes or recognisable narrative devices. Most irritatingly, we seem far too confident about 'knowing' what their work of art is 'really' about and taking as our starting point for criticism the artist's infidelity to the 'real' point of their work. But what do we know?

Faye, the main character of Cusk's Outline trilogy, appearing at a literary conference, notes: 'I said I wasn't sure it mattered whether the audience knew who we were. It was good, in a way, to be reminded of the fundamental anonymity of the writing process, the fact that each reader came to your book a stranger who had to be persuaded to stay.'

The impossibility of verified truth is galling in almost all spaces, except literature. We can still enjoy make-believe here, still enjoy the porousness and instability of reality. That's part of what books are for. So I find something almost moving in the innocence and ignorance of scrambling around trying to delineate what's true and what isn't in a book such as Life of M; the idea that we could have anything unwittingly or incautiously shown to us by a writer such as Cusk, who does not reveal a jot without total control.

Life of M is published by Faber & Faber (£18.99). Order a copy at observer.co.uk for £17.09 (10% off RRP). Delivery charges may apply.

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Interview

observer.co.uk^{}[] 09.08.26

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Maria Andreyevna lays flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow in 2024. Reuters

THE WOMAN WHO TOOK ON PUTIN

Åsne Seierstad meets Maria Andreyevna, one of a small group of Russian women protesting against the mobilisation of their husbands to fight in Ukraine

The wedding dress was simple, and so long that it dragged along the ground even when she stood on tiptoe in the white platform shoes. Maria weighed between 30 and 40 kilos, which was perfect, they both thought. She was 155cm tall in her stockinged feet, Ivan 190. All steps, and most other things, invited kisses.

Just before the wedding, Ivan moved in with her. “I can’t take any more of my mother!”

This was allowed. They were adults now: she 22, he 21. Both of them were from Moscow; they’d met at school, where she was in the grade above him. She dreamed of becoming a paediatrician. She loved children. He did too.

While Maria trained to be a doctor, Ivan did his military service and completed his nurse’s training.

Continued on page 12

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Interview

Continued from page 11

His aim was to become a certified masseur and start his own massage parlour. Maria was his guinea pig. Her back softened up, her shoulders turned to jelly, her thighs burned. The course he took promised figure-sculpting Brazilian massage that would lift butts. What a start to their marriage!

They decided to start having children straight away. Because they wanted many. But then she didn't get pregnant.

Not the first year.

Not the second.

Eight years passed.

They were offered IVF and included in the state quota, which meant they got it for free.

In July 2021, around the same time as Vladimir Putin published his essay on the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians, Maria and Ivan's long-awaited daughter came into the world. When the president ordered the attack on Ukraine, Lilya was seven months old.

Maria had condemned the invasion. Ivan hadn't offered up an opinion. The war was no concern of his. He had appointment books full of women who wanted a Brazilian butt.

He was called up. He was to report for duty the following day.

"Stay home!" Maria said.

"But what if my country needs me?"

After all, he was a nurse. And he considered himself a patriot.

"You have a little daughter!"

The army had designated him a specialist. He couldn't get out of it. He didn't try, either. He just left. Maria was in shock.

By the time Ivan had been at war for a year, from the late autumn of 2023, Maria Andreyevna was the de facto leader of the Moscow branch of the Way Home. Her husband had been at war for almost 16 months when I called. She was about to put her daughter to bed, and we agreed to meet the next day while her mother looked after the toddler.

At the end of January 2024, a week before I called her, Maria Andreyevna had started her own Telegram channel.

Her profile picture was a white headscarf with no face inside. On the scarf, in red, it said: DEMOBILISATION.

In her first blogpost, she described her reaction when Russian forces rolled into Ukraine:

"I thought it would be over quickly. It was impossible to imagine anything else. But then a week passed, two, three, then came Victory Day in May, then came summer and ... then came the mobilisation on 21 September. I won't dwell on the lies we were fed. I was crushed. My brother was called up first. We talked on the phone that night. I was more scared than I'd ever been before. On 12 October, my husband was called up. Endless worry. Sleepless

nights ... I don't think civilians should ever be mobilised! There should be a contract army of soldiers who volunteer to fight, with the right not to renew their contracts when they expire."

Half an hour later, she'd added another post.

"People often scold us: you just want your men to be switched out for others, take my neighbour instead. No! Let me tell you a secret," she wrote, providing a link from Kreml.ru. There, they'd promised to replace the people they'd mobilised with volunteer contract soldiers, Maria wrote. But it hadn't happened. The Kremlin had tricked the wives and mothers.

The link was broken. Four likes. At eight o'clock, she posted the proposals that the Way Home had submitted to elected officials in the Duma. Mobilised soldiers shouldn't serve for more than a year. Keeping them at the front until the war was over was unconstitutional.

Six likes.

Maria wasn't done.

At nine o'clock, she wrote: CAN WE SAY WAR?

She shared recent judgments against local newspapers and websites that had used the word and been punished, as well as statements from the prosecutor general, and asked: "Since we have a state of emergency on the border and in recently annexed areas, in addition to mobilisation, can we

Members of the Way Home, the campaign group in Moscow in 2024. Getty Images

"And who are you? Are you worthy of your husband, who's fighting for and defending the fatherland?"

now call a spade a spade?"

Three people had reacted to this post with a flame emoji. No thumbs-up.

All this on her first day with her own Telegram channel.

She stood before me in moon boots, stonewashed jeans and a colourful padded jacket. The size of a fifth-grader. She'd suggested a cafe in her neighbourhood, which was a fair distance outside of the city centre.

"It's just insulting!" she said as she ordered a pot of tea. "Putin has declared 2024 the Year of the Family. He took our men, and now he's asking us to have more children!"

The Way Home had held its first protest just before Christmas, close to the seat of power, outside the Kremlin in a symbolic and inviolable place: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Ceremonial guards were posted on each side.

The first week, five women came.

The following week, in addition to flowers, the women brought placards demanding demobilisation. The guards did nothing, but men in blue uniforms with batons approached. Two of them grabbed Maria and pulled her away. The others surrounded the rest of the women and herded them towards a waiting vehicle.

As she walked away, escorted by the police officers, Maria noticed that the leader of the group was

receiving messages through an earpiece. He answered, listened and acknowledged before ordering his men to let the women go.

The military wives were untouchable. So far.

They continued to meet every Saturday at noon. In pairs, they approached the flame in white headscarves and with flowers in their hands.

They became 10. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty. A few handfuls, that was all.

The women were ripped apart on social media. They weren't wives, they were "trolls in dirty socks", said one of the president's men. Nazis would take over Russia if their demands were met, said the leader of the Communist party. The bullying found its way from the internet into the state TV channels. The wife of a mobik was ridiculed on Russia-1 by top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov when she complained that her husband had been sent straight from his sickbed back to the front. "What's he going to do at home?" Solovyov mocked. "And you! Are you worthy of your husband, who's fighting for and defending the fatherland? ... Who are you? Did he give you permission to talk that way? In his name?"

"Solovyov is shitting on us," Maria said to me, shaking her head, auburn ponytail swishing behind her. It wasn't just the women

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Interview

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

13

women being harassed. Their husbands were threatened with summary trial. Some were told they'd find themselves in the first line of attack if their wives didn't shut their mouths.

Most women did shut their mouths. 'They sit on their ares and receive their husband's salary,' Maria said. 'I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I wasn't doing everything I could to stop the hell unfolding in Ukraine.'

Ivan had been on leave twice during his 16 months at the front. The first time was for his daughter's second birthday in July. Lilya hadn't recognised him, but he was soon the only person she wanted to be with. He'd carried her, their long-awaited child, on his shoulders, higher than she'd ever sat before. Before he left again.

Ivan's next period of leave had been for Maria's 33rd birthday in October. 'That's when I got scared. My husband didn't want to tell me anything any more. One night, I woke up to find he wasn't next to me. I went to look for him. He was standing by the kitchen counter, drinking straight from the bottle. We didn't have anything strong, but since it was my birthday, there was a bottle of Martini and two of dry white wine. By the time I got there, there was only one bottle left.'

Maria slowed down.

'I thought, I have to be here for him.' She'd joined him by the counter. 'Get a glass for me too, and we'll talk. And then we'll go back to bed.'

That was when he started to share what Maria now was telling me. 'They come without hands, without feet, only strips of flesh where they've been torn off. Amputate, sew up, what can be saved? They come unconscious. No longer able to speak. So many people have died in his care. He was all about butts and thighs and stiff shoulders, but now it's death, death, death. Every day. He gets to know them. Then when he next sees them they're dying. I suppose, at least when they're sent to my husband they have a chance.'

The cafe was empty apart from the table furthest away, where the two servers were sitting. Maria looked at her watch. She'd promised her mother she wouldn't be long. I was travelling home the following day but planned to return for the presidential election a month later.

Russia's wars are won and lost by wounded soldiers. As long as you can pull a trigger, you're sent back. During the Second World War, eight out of 10 were returned to the front. During the war in Ukraine, such a statistic is a military secret.

But one thing is certain, you end

up at Moscow's military hospital, built on the orders of Peter the Great in 1706 because the army still wants you. A month later Ivan was here.

Maria made the trip to his bedside every day, from west to east across the city. He was in a wing of the hospital that the army didn't talk much about: the psychiatric ward. He'd had a nervous breakdown. She didn't know anything more than that.

He didn't say much, but he was breathing, and she could hold his hand. Hands that had got rougher, harder, been cut and torn up. His eyes had a spark of madness, mixed with a grief that seemed incurable. Apathy and rage, the doctors had said. When Maria got home after her first visit, she wrote two sentences on her blog: 'We must remember that nothing is more valuable than a human life. Individuality is the basis of a healthy society.'

She didn't share that her husband had found his way home. He was home, but not with her. His eyes looked her way, but they didn't take her in.

He would have to get better before she could bring Lilya. Their daughter turned three that summer and still hadn't found the words she'd lost when her father left.

Would it harm Ivan if she continued with the Way Home? Would they harm him? Many stopped protesting when their husbands returned home, some with life-changing injuries, others in caskets. The fight was over when they no longer had their own men to save.

Maria decided to continue. In a week's time, Russia would elect a new president. Or, rather, the same president. Putin's two biggest political opponents, Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny, had been cleared away. The former back in 2015, the latter a few weeks before.

The Way Home had written to all the candidates. The only one to answer was Boris Nadezhdin, former vice-president of the Duma, who wanted an end to the war and to re-establish connections with Europe. 'We had a good meeting with him. He listened and supported our demands, but then he was barred,' Maria said when we met in her neighbourhood cafe.

The week before the election, after the usual flower-laying, Maria and a handful of other women stopped by

From top, Vladimir Putin visits injured servicemen at a military hospital in Moscow in 2025; the bodies of abandoned Russian soldiers in Ukraine; Andreyevna in a meeting with politician Boris Nadezhdin.

AFP/Getty Images, Adrian Vautier, Niana Holman/Magnum Photos

Putin's campaign headquarters near the Kremlin. They marched right up to the counter.

'What does Putin's election manifesto say about the mobilised?' the youngest of them asked.

Putin didn't need a manifesto, explained the woman at the counter. He would just continue as before. But they had stickers, if the women wanted. They didn't want stickers. They wanted answers.

One afternoon, when Maria was on her way home from the military hospital, she had the feeling someone was following her from the metro. The next day, she was once again gripped by fear.

In the corridor at the hospital, some of her husband's fellow patients had pointed and asked: 'Is that her?' Ivan had dismissed them. 'No, that isn't her. She just looks like her.'

Were they waiting at the metro? Did they know when she was going to the hospital, and when she was on her way home? Had they tapped her phone? Were they following her blog? Was she losing her mind?

Her mind raced with thoughts of how Ivan could get well and what would happen then. Part of her wanted him to stay in the hospital, because as soon as he recovered, they'd send him back to the frontline.

She also didn't know what to tell their daughter. Sometimes the girl had nightmares, waking up screaming. Was Maria's fear and stress affecting the three-year-old?

A few days after Maria had felt she was being followed, the doorbell rang. Her mother answered it. Outside stood three men. One wore a police uniform, the other two civilian clothing. They said they were from the prosecutor's office and that they had a warning for Maria Andreyevna.

'She isn't home,' her mother replied. 'Can I take a message?' 'No, we need to deliver it personally.'

The policemen came back later and delivered the warning.

In connection with internet monitoring, including the public profile of Maria Andreyevna, evidence has been found of illegal actions characteristic of extremist activity being planned in connection with an unlawful public event that

is due to take place at noon on 17 March at polling stations in Moscow. Maria Andreyevna has planned to participate in these.

She posted the entire document on her Telegram blog. 'So you can't go to the polls at a certain time? Where is democracy? Freedom of choice and of expression? You might as well cancel the entire election, then you won't have to worry about anyone voting in a way, or at a time, that you don't like?'

The following week Putin received almost 80% of the vote. His best election result ever. A war and 100,000 deaths gave him 11 percentage points more than last time.

And now, every Friday, the ministry of justice published a list of new foreign agents flagged as enemies. On the last Friday in May 2025, Maria was on the list.

This marked the start of a life with even more restrictions. She was now someone it was dangerous to be in touch with. In July, Lilya turned four. Plans were made to celebrate three generations of women. Lilya, Maria, Grandma, Cake and candles. Ivan was still in hospital.

On Lilya's birthday, Maria got a letter from her employer, the hospital from which she was on compassionate leave. She opened the envelope. Her employment had been terminated. That was one of the conditions a foreign agent had to observe: they couldn't work anywhere they might influence children.

Maria was a paediatrician. And banned.

Postscript: since I left Russia in 2025 more restrictions on the population have been put in place. Life for those who protest has become more dangerous and more difficult. Many have lost their jobs. If they don't abide by the Kremlin's rules there are endless trials and fines to be paid. This has happened to several of the soldiers' family members.

When I told Maria that her story would be printed in The Observer, and asked if she wanted to write an epilogue to the chapter printed on these pages, she wrote that she did not feel able to add more. It involved too many risks. 'On one hand, it's a great offer; on the other hand, I have no idea how closely they're monitoring me.'

I am forever grateful that Maria took the risk to meet me in 2024 and 2025 to tell me the story of her life. In 2026 that no longer feels possible, but I hope that one day we will be able to perform together at a book reading in Russia!

This text has been read and approved by her.

This is an edited extract from Never Say War: Life Inside Russia by Anne Seiersaud, published by Virago (1.50). Order a copy from The Observer Shop for £27 (10% off RRP). Free UK standard P&P on online orders over £25.

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Science & Tech

The networker

John Naughton

AI is destroying books to stop chatbots choking on their own slop

Some months ago, online booksellers began to notice a dramatic uptick in business. Books published before 2022 were suddenly in demand. One seller interviewed by the 404 Media website went from shifting 20 books in a good week to selling hundreds. He was puzzled and slightly suspicious about this bonanza. The books he usually sold tended to be specialised and bought by schools and libraries. And his bulk orders in the past tended to reflect a sudden interest in a particular topic.

But the recent large orders were for books that had little in common except for one thing: they all had an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) – a unique publishing identifier. “There’s no rhyme or reason to it,” he said. “Also, there’s a total disregard for the price of the book. I’ve had some books that sold this way that were [...] greatly overpriced.” Whoever was buying these books was clearly not price-sensitive. That’s because those deep-pocketed bibliophiles were an AI company. The most likely collector is Anthropic, which

Wall Street thinks is closing in on a $1m valuation and has form in the book-scanning business. Way back in 2024, it hired Tom Turvey, an executive who had been involved in the Google Books project, and put him in charge of “Project Panama” – a secret scheme to “destructively scan all the books in the world”. According to an internal document unsealed in a court case, the codename was chosen “because we don’t want it to be known that we are working on this”.

So what is “destructive scanning”? Basically, it’s nasty, brutal and quick. It means cutting a book apart in order to digitise it. You slice off the spine or use a heated solvent to dissolve the book’s binding glue, and separate it into loose single sheets that are fed through a high-speed scanner or automatic document feeder. And, having done this, you pulp or otherwise dispose of the paper.

To anyone who cares about books, it may seem barbaric. After all – as the Google Books project showed – it’s possible to digitise books without destroying them. But that requires time and care, two things entirely absent from the tech mindset. Companies such as Anthropic are in a hurry and their appetite is gargantuan.

An internal memo on “data acquisition opportunity” dated October 2024 said that “We still have room to grow our investment in Project Panama. There are ~40 million books available to purchase in the world. Given our current purchase parameters mainly around price, publishing quality, confidentiality, our serviceable obtainable market (SOM) is ~$[redacted]M. To date we have purchased [redacted]M books leaving a sizable ~[redacted]M left.” Note: “M” equals millions.

What lies behind this appetite? Answer: the fear of “model collapse”. Large language models (LLMs) are trained by ingesting every machine-readable text available online. But as they become more ubiquitous, more and more of the text those chatbots generate is itself ending up back online. Which means that newer generations of LLMs will be trained

on data that includes much of this AI-generated output.

In other words, the machines could eventually wind up inhaling their own exhaust. This is not a good idea, even for computers, as the late computer scientist Ross Anderson and his colleagues pointed out in 2023. Their study of “the curse of recursion” found that “use of model-generated content in training causes irreversible defects in the resulting models”.

Avoiding the curse means finding some impeccable, machine-readable text that is unsullied by AI slop. And what better source of such glorious training data than books published before the slop started spewing after the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

Books, after all, are the prime example of accumulated knowledge packed into copy-edited, grammatical, lucid prose. They have, of course, one drawback: their lack of machine-readability. But to an engineer, that’s a mere technical problem. Books can be butchered and their valuable data scanned into the giant sausage machine of AI. It’s a pity, obviously, that they have to be destroyed in the process. But then you can’t have a tech revolution without shattering some sentimental human illusions.

SMS Battles 2026

SMS (Stop MS) Battles returns

Hosted by Clare Balding, enjoy an evening of glamour, celebrity guests and spirited competition. Test your knowledge, compete for glory and experience an exceptional night while supporting the MS Society.

Thursday 8 October 2026

The Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PB

Tables starting at £5,500 on sale now!

For further details or RSVP contact specialevents@mssociety.org.uk

Registered with the UK and EU REGULATOR

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Critics

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

15

Architecture

Rouun Moore on what the rest of the world can learn from Iranian design, page 20

Theatre

Game of Thrones comes to Stratford

Warring dynasties, jousting tournaments, dragons and the Iron Throne. Ahead of the RSC's opening night, Barbara Ellen goes behind the scenes of the first stage production of George RR Martin's fantasy juggernaut as it thunders on to Shakespeare's stage

It's not every day you get within touching distance of the Iron Throne. I'm lucky though, because The Observer has been granted an exclusive advance look at the inner workings of Game Of Thrones: The Mad King at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, the first stage production of George RR Martin's Westeros fantasy saga of dynasty, destiny and dragons.

The stage project has had a lengthy genesis, one that predates the Royal Shakespeare Company's involvement and goes back before the pandemic. Written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, it's a prequel set 10 years before the first Game of Thrones book, in the era of Mad King Aerys II Targaryen.

Focusing on a great tourney (jousting tournament) at Harrenhal, the largest seat in the Seven Kingdoms, it features familiar characters and houses (Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon), and delves into untold Westeros mysteries. The large cast includes Michael Shaeffer as the king, Michael Abubakar as Iddard (Ned) Stark, and Daisy Franks as Cersei Lannister.

Martin himself is listed as creator and executive producer. He has visited the company in Stratford and, by all accounts, was particularly taken with the armoury department. His blog has a photo of him there, happily holding a sword, like he'd been let loose in a medieval sweet shop.

After my trip to Stratford, a week before this Saturday's premiere, the sold-out play hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The first series of previews were postponed. Another preview – on Saturday 25 July – was cancelled just a few hours before curtain-up, with refunds arranged.

'The fabled seat of Westeros power': Michael Shaeffer, as King Aerys II Targaryen, on the Iron Throne made of more than 300 swords. Johan Persson

Trouble in Thesp-eros? Those who'd paid for travel and accommodation were upset and there was speculation on fan sites: were there 'safety issues' or problems with pyrotechnics? The RSC stated the decision was made 'owing to the ambitious and epic nature of this production' and 'unforeseen delays'. Subsequent previews, however, seem to have gone smoothly, with reports of standing ovations.

I am shown around the busy auditorium – drills roaring, tools clanking, wires trailing – by set designer Chloe Lamford (who won

best scenic design at the 2026 Tony Awards for Death of a Salesman on Broadway) and members of the production team. In a first for the theatre, Lamford has replaced the standard thrust stage with a striking cruciform structure. The entire venue is reconfigured, creating three levels of immersive seating banks, and repositioning the entrances. Ambitious and epic indeed.

At one end of the stage sits the Iron Throne, the fabled seat of Westeros power. A formidable metal edifice emblazoned, I'm told, with more than 300 individually crafted swords, which in Game of Thrones

lore represent those who have fallen in pursuit of supremacy.

'A sculpture of death,' says Lamford, with relish. 'It's a big theatrical moment for us. We wanted to make something that felt imposing.' Was Martin impressed by the throne? 'It's George-approved. It should have a little sign on it.'

When I ask if people are allowed to sit on it, Kurt Moores, one of the production managers, laughs: 'We've got a long queue of people wanting to sit there.'

The production design is complex, taking in everything from Harrenhal and the Red Keep castle, to lakes,

balconies, battles and banquets. Secrecy has been paramount. Not everybody in the crew has been allowed to see the script.

I ask if the play will be battling the preconceptions of fans of the TV series, but Lamford doesn't think so. 'We are theatre. And theatre can do a thing that TV can't. We're completely different mediums.'

I am taken down to the sub-stage level – apparently the first time a journalist has been beneath the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. This is minus one, but the technical crew have excavated down to minus two for this production, for the first time in a decade.

Before me stands a telescopic lift, which will transport the Iron Throne. A second Perspex lift is stuffed with a giant tree. It feels like a hallucination, but there it is, the actual Laughing Tree, trunk, branches, leaves and all (Westeros buffs will be aware of the tale of the knight of the Laughing Tree).

Lamford and the team say that if they weren't Game of Thrones fans before, they are now. They have been respectful of the fantasy realm. 'Everyone's been really careful to hold [on to] that,' says Lamford. Martin's involvement, they say, has been helpful. 'He's seen all the designs, everything, but he let us really be free in our interpretations.'

Anna Fox, RSC technical and production director, has overseen everything from metalwork to carpentry and puppetry, all the way through to creating Easter eggs for fans and microphones on horses' hooves. 'This is the biggest production we have probably ever done here,' she says.

But should the Royal Shakespeare Company really be putting on a Game of Thrones play?

In terms of the popular appeal, it's a no-brainer. The Westeros juggernaut made the fantasy genre mainstream. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire seven-book series (two are pending) began with A Game of Thrones in 1996 – the play marks the 30th anniversary of the novel – which sold upwards of 100m copies in 47 languages.

HBO turned it into a blockbuster TV franchise: Game Of Thrones ran between 2011 and 2019 (the finale was watched by 19.3 million people); the prequel, House of the Dragon (set about 200 years prior), is just finishing its third series; A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, aired in January. The revenue generated from such

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Critics

Theatre

Continued from page 15

a production can't be discounted in beleaguered theatreland (in 2025, the RSC announced plans to reduce its workforce by 11%).

But there's a deeper cultural reason for staging such a production. It is well documented that Martin was heavily influenced by Shakespeare – especially the history plays – and the War of the Roses. Announcing the play, the clearly thrilled author said the RSC was the 'obvious choice', and Shakespeare 'a constant source of inspiration'.

On a call with co-artistic directors Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans, Harvey tells me there was 'excitement on all sides'.

The RSC was quick to reassure its core audience that Game of Thrones: The Mad King would retain the quality, detail and 'epic sweep' of a Shakespearean production. And Harvey is not concerned about the move into the fantasy genre per se: 'Our Shakespearean audiences are used to huge leaps of the imagination. We've just had The Tempest with Ken Branagh and that's full of wild flights of fancy.'

She also points to the RSC's staging of non-Bard productions and literary adaptations: 'New writing has stood shoulder to shoulder with Shakespeare at the RSC since 1964. One of the things we talk about is that it's important to find writers and stories that have big lungs, and it doesn't come much bigger than this.'

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre has been completely reimagined with a cross-shaped stage on which to host jousting tournaments. Johan Persson

'You're not watching Netflix on your own – you're in a room of hundreds of people. It's a sort of uniting'

Evans adds: 'When you think about the great themes of the history plays – succession, how power shifts, how power is transferred, when power ends, internecine fighting between families – this play is full of those themes.'

It also presents an opportunity to reach new audiences: Evans tells me that 57% of The Mad King's ticketholders are new to the RSC. 'We keep wanting to expand the kind of work that we can do and the kind of audiences we reach.'

There is a lot of sex and violence in Game of Thrones – I note an intimacy director is on board for the production – though, as Harvey says, these elements are key to Shakespeare too.

'If the audiences are expecting spectacular fights, they're going

to get them,' says Evans. 'And if audiences are expecting romance, they're going to get it.'

Audiences are also going to get dragons, though given the play is set during a period when the fire-breathers are extinct – and not wishing to upset learned scholars of Westeros (believe me, they exist) – it is stressed that they appear in a way that doesn't, as it were, break canon.

'I'm a fan of the series,' says Evans. 'I should say that. And when you see those dragons appear, with fire coming out of their mouths, it's extraordinary.'

Martin has not always been in harmony with adapters of his work, to put it mildly. Most recently, he complained – publicly and vociferously – about being sidelined from the making of House of the Dragon.

Evans says Martin has been 'very respectful' to the theatre team, and, vice versa, with everything from costume to casting decisions run by the author. Evans adds: 'This is his creation, Westeros, and we wanted to respect that.' Harvey says: 'The script is Duncan's but the collaboration has been really genuine.'

When I refer to the long haul to get The Mad King to the stage, Harvey says: 'It's in the nature of any epic theatrical experience, whether it's a musical or a play with this many elements. You will

want to make sure that you're not bringing it to an audience until it's really cooked.'

It becomes clear during my time in Stratford just how much painstaking 'cooking' has been pulled off: from the technological marvels of cross-shaped stages and telescopic lifts, to sigils on jewellery and authentically trodden-in dirt, in what Fox describes as 'a lovely amalgamation of traditional craft and modern technology'.

I am taken to look at the armoury, specifically the 'edged sword' department that so entranced Martin during his visit. The department head, Alan Smith, points out the corner where Martin crouched with a sword. He also reveals that a special 'war hammer' was constructed for Robert Baratheon's historic Westeros rebellion, and lets me poke through sundry medieval-ish daggers, shields and helmets.

When I ask Lamford about her vision for The Mad King, how she wants audiences to feel when they leave the theatre, she replies: 'Exhilarated! To feel a potent connection to the characters. I want people to be moved, like you've been part of something. You're not watching Netflix on your own – you're in a room of hundreds of people. You've witnessed something together, you experience it together, in a sort of uniting. That's delicious.'

Game of Thrones: The Mad King runs at Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until 5 September

Theatre short

My bloody valentine

Sarah Kane's grisly horror show of tortured lovers asks important questions about human suffering but leaves you too exhausted to answer them

Katherine Cowles

Cleansed

Almeida Theatre, London N1; until 29 August

No use hoping for catharsis. After the mutilation and the beatings, the anal rape, the suicide by hanging. After an eyeball is stabbed with a needle and a tongue is chopped out with a pair of scissors. The title of Sarah Kane's 1998 play – Cleansed – promises a purging, but we are fools to expect it: the mind is a torture chamber, its

obsessions grim and unrelenting. Among this series of screams and gruesome images, the most startling revelation in Rebecca Frecknall's daring production is the shock of daffodils – a vivid yellow carpet – springing like hope from underneath the stage. It is the hope that kills you in the end.

We can debate the use of shock tactics, but why bother? Here is a work so explicitly designed to test the extremes of theatrical image that one character has each of his extremities chopped off. Nobody could mistake Kane's appalling nightmare for realism – the perverse enjoyment is trying to work out what it wants to say about the reality of human suffering. The plot, insofar as these elliptical events amount to one, involves two couples – a brother and sister and two young gay men – who are tortured by love and by a sadistic abuser, Tinker. He maims and shames them, while he is himself reduced by pathetic love, masturbating over a striptease dancer.

Voyeurism, grief, romantic rejection, suicidal despair – all are here, competing for attention. The story they build to is desperate but not devastating. Most compelling and perplexing today, in some ways, is the treatment of gender dysphoria, as Grace (Pearl Chanda, as pain personified), grieving her brother Graham, tries to reclaim him by physically becoming him: wearing his clothes, using male pronouns, finally going under Tinker's knife for gender-reassignment surgery. Grace ends up bandaged and bloodied: is this punishment or wish fulfillment? Are the two any longer distinct? Cleansed is a provocation, but it takes a good director to make it feel

provocative today. Frecknall (Cabaret, A Streetcar Named Desire) has an artist's eye for composition and a dancer's physical vocabulary – both required to tackle Kane's notoriously difficult directions ('He takes Carl by the arm and cuts off his hands'; 'Carl is being heavily beaten by an unseen group of men'). She does so through a mix of graphic enactment (a noose here, a spurt of blood there) and suggestion: Carl's assault might be danced, or obscured behind a screen like a torture peepshow. The production screams like a slasher movie – and looks like one too. Madeleine Girling turns Kane's university campus into a dinghy ambiguous office-cum-

'Maimed and shamed': Leo Bill as Tinker and Luke Cinque-White as Carl in Cleansed. Marc Brenner

asylum: ceiling tiles, stark overhead lights, walls smeared with bloodied handprints, a lonely corridor – the better to trap you with. Other horror flourishes include Leo Bill's Tinker who, with straggly beard, square-frame glasses and dubious motivation, is a garden-variety suburban monster; and the pumping of the Kinks' song Days into a torture cell, as if Tarantino did Guantánamo. 'You took my life,' the song intones, as the cast – throughout fearless and committed – wail, whimper and howl in pain.

Kane (who took her own life in 1999, aged 28) said Cleansed was inspired by Roland Barthes's assertion that being heartbroken in love is like being a prisoner in Dachau – another provocation. What seems rather to power this play is power play, a wrestling of control. The playwright takes four utterly helpless characters and, through them, beats her audience into exhausted submission. The result is stapely. The Almeida invites us to spend time decompressing in the auditorium afterwards. I recommend fleeing to the nearest cold shower. Then bed.

Susannah Clapp returns next week

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Critics

Music

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

17

Interview

‘Our celibate guru was sleeping around’

As a new James documentary uncovers the band’s unseen history and rock’n’roll antics, Miranda Sawyer talks to frontman Tim Booth about spirituality, sobriety, and the days when they were so wild even the Prodigy were told to keep their distance

Rock’n’roll is built on myth, and those myths are usually created in real time. Rebellious behaviour is reported by the press as it happens: the band becomes notorious, the wild reputation is fed. The excess becomes the legend.

James, formed in Manchester in 1982, are not like that. Known for their huge hits Sit Down, Laid and She’s a Star, their eye-catching band T-shirts, their lead singer Tim Booth’s interesting dance moves and his lack of laddishness when compared with other northern frontmen, James have often seemed different to other indie groups. Different, but not wilder. Odd rumours swirled about them. Were they involved in a cult? Were there physical fights?

A new documentary, James: Getting Away With It, to be released in cinemas with a streamed interview and band performance, seems set to change the band’s image. Or, at least, to shine light on who they truly are. Chris Atkins, admired director of Ukip: The First 100 Days and Who Killed The KLF?, interweaves contemporary footage with the band’s unseen history. It’s quite the tale.

“I’ve only watched the documentary once, and I found it upsetting,” says Booth, over a Zoom call from Portugal. Shaved head, sculpted goatee, pink vest: different. “It brings back some pretty traumatic memories. It was hard making it for me and Jimmy [Glennie, bassist]. Neither of us ever told people about one period in James. For most bands it would become their image, but we wanted to protect members, and so we circled the wagons and never talked about it.”

“It was in 1997, when the band’s partying got so out of hand that on a Lollapalooza festival bill including acts like Korn, Tool, Tricky and

‘What unites this disparate band is a deep belief in the power of the moment’, above, Tim Booth performs at Glastonbury Festival in 2024, and right, onstage in 1990. Redherns/Getty

Snoop Dogg, it was James’s dressing room that the Prodigy were told, in no uncertain terms, to avoid. “A bad influence,” smiles Booth. Too wild. Too many high jinks, including smashing a golf cart into a stage and being chased by gun-brandishing security guards.

Booth himself didn’t partake in the madness – he couldn’t, because of long-term health difficulties. And it was this he found distressing when watching the film, remembering the isolation of being sober when everyone else was up all night.

It was a tricky time. The band were struggling to connect with the Lollapalooza fans, who were mostly there for the hardcore acts. James’s melodies were deemed unmasculine, and they were heckled. So they wore dresses – Saul Davies put on heels and wrote “Fuck” and “Me” on his legs, before strutting onstage to play the violin

“I’ve only watched the film once, and I found it upsetting,” says Booth. ‘It brings back some pretty traumatic memories’

– and Booth went out into the audience and sang directly to the tough guys, looking them in the eye. They folded. “I loved that,” he says. “It taught me never to be frightened of an audience. Going up to people and singing right to them, seeing their reaction. Having a moment of intimacy.”

A seven-piece since the late 1980s – and now a nine-piece – the band’s faultlines of background and training are explored. Glennie is working-class Mancunian; Booth is from West Yorkshire and boarded, miserably, at public school in Shrewsbury. Glennie and Booth are self-taught musicians (“simple, untrained, primitive,” says Booth of his own ability); guitarist Adrian Oxal was a child prodigy cello

player, and multi-instrumentalist Davies was the leader of the Stirling youth orchestra.

In the mid-1980s, both Booth and Glennie, who have been in James from the start, became involved in a cult, Lifewave, run by John Yarr. Lifewave collapsed amid the usual palavers – “our celibate guru was sleeping around” – but Booth and Glennie have continued with its meditation practice. Glennie, says Booth, “will do seven hours in one go”. Booth himself has transformed his meditation into dance, teaching hundreds of classes in which he leads people in movement. “We go into altered states through that,” he says. Such practices have, you feel, kept him and Glennie alive. The rest of James do not meditate.

What unites this disparate band is a deep belief in the power of the moment, a shared delight in music’s freedom and spontaneity. They write songs through lengthy, free jamming: they worked with Brian Eno on five of their albums, and in the film, Eno says: “I hadn’t really ever seen people improvise complete songs. Their great strength is this joyous, improvisatory chaos.”

This, though, can lead to clashes. We are shown Booth asleep behind a door that says “Do Not Disturb”, moments before the band are due onstage. Which would be OK, except the song order hasn’t been fixed and no one knows what they’re going to play. At another important gig, the setlist goes through seven changes and Davies ends up with the wrong list.

Chris Martin appears in the film, delighting in James’s ability to create a world in which the fans can immerse themselves. Throughout, there is a strong sense that James, as a band, has its own gravity and spin. They’re gathering more and more fans, and had their first UK No 1 album, Yummy, in 2024.

“Our gigs are bigger. And we no longer have the beauty privilege of youth, so it has to be the music that’s doing it,” says Booth. “We all want to make a transcendent experience every time we play live. So we change the set every night, because it’s a live piece of communication. The other night we played to 25,000 people in Porto, and in the middle of the set, I turned around and went, ‘This next song isn’t going to work. We’ve lost those people over there. Let’s bring them back in with She’s a Star, or a song that will remind us of our unity.’ Ninety per cent of band gigs are a theatre performance, but not ours. We respond in the moment, and it’s all so interesting.”

James: Getting Away With It will screen at cinemas nationwide on 17 August, followed by a livestream of a band interview and live performance. Tim Booth is on the Talk ’90s to Me podcast this week

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Critics Film

'It's a book in which nothing and everything happens': newcomer Emily Matthews and Glenn Close in The Summer Book. Rocana Rossi/Canic films

Film of the week

A break in the clouds

Glenn Close stars in an elegant adaptation of Tove Jansson's story of a family emerging from grief during a summer break on a wild and weather-beaten Finnish island

Wendy Ide

The Summer Book (95 mins, PG) Directed by Charlie McDowell; starring Emily Matthews, Glenn Close, Anders Danielsen Lie

The distinctive approach that makes Tove Jansson's The Summer Book such a beloved work would seem to make this slim, elegantly economical fiction singularly ill-suited for film. The gentle marvel of Charlie McDowell's quiet adaptation is just how much of the novel's restraint is present in the movie.

The Summer Book is the most successful adult novel from the Finnish-born author best known as creator of the children's classic Moomin series. There's crystalline delicacy in Jansson's spare, simple story of a daughter, father and grandmother spending a summer

on a wild and tiny island in the Gulf of Finland while mourning the death of the child's mother. It's a book in which nothing and everything happens; the distinct chapters reject a conventional narrative line. It's like rummaging through a child's box of treasures collected from the shoreline.

How do you echo this mosaic structure in film, a medium that favours propulsive forward motion? How to capture the book's interior, unsentimental handling of grief on screen, where pain tends to be shown rather than obliquely suggested?

The success of this muted but moving picture is down to an element that is central to Jansson's book: the natural world. The screenplay, by Robert Jones, tackles the loss of the mother more overtly than the novel does, but the movie lets nature speak when people struggle to articulate their feelings.

We meet the island before we encounter the humans. Fringed

with sea ice and hunched against sombre clouds fat with snow, it seems vulnerable – with its shuttered, rickety hut and spindly saplings – to the whims of the winter. But then summer arrives, and the island and its inhabitants step out from the dark. A carpet of green and confetti of wild flowers replace the monochrome. And the score – a rippling, eddying dance between piano and woodwind – evokes a sense of new life and fresh possibilities.

The family arrives by a small boat. Sophia (newcomer Emily Matthews) bursts out of the vessel propelled by a child's excitement at the promise of a holiday. For her father (the always impressive Norwegian actor Anders Danielsen Lie) and grandmother (a serene Glenn Close) there's more baggage carried in the painful memories the island triggers.

Stepping into the cosy hut, the father's eye is drawn to his late wife's hat, left behind for a summer

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“ Muted and moving, the movie lets nature speak when people struggle to articulate their feelings

return that never came. He clings to it, unwilling to put it down and unsure what to do with it. The grandmother, who sees everything, puts it somewhere out of sight, with all the other unbearable reminders of his loss.

The island and the setting are both unmoored in time. The book was written in 1972, and Sophia's flared jeans would seem to date it around the same period. But the way of life, lit by candles and paraffin lamps, with midsummer rituals shaped over countless generations, could be from decades before.

The camera frequently shoots from low to the earth, a lichen-level lens capturing the characters as they each explore in their own way. Sophia, with her scrawny, wading- bird legs, strides confidently over rocky, uncharted terrain. The grandmother, flat-footed and more circumspect on the uneven shore, uses her sturdy walking stick for balance and to marshal errant clumps of moss back into place.

And the father seems adrift, even when he is at his desk toiling over book illustrations. He channels his sadness into a tree – an unpromising poplar sapling planted in his wife's memory that he attempts to coax back to life.

This is not an eventful film. A storm, which Sophia hoped would alleviate a fractious moment of boredom, provides a brief instance of peril. An encounter with new neighbours on a nearby island is a reminder that not everyone lives lightly on this precious land. A new pet cat is supremely uninterested in being the beloved companion that Sophia craves.

Gradually, the father emerges from his own grief to help his daughter through hers. The wise grandmother makes peace with the fact the final season of her own life is almost at a close. And the glowing Baltic light cools into winter once again.

And the rest... by Wendy Ide

Vicky Krieps as Clémence in the custody battle film Love Me Tender. Below, Ana Celeste in Netflix's 'slippery' true crime feature A Child of My Own. Love Me Tender/Netflix

Love Me Tender

(134 mins, 15) Directed by Anna Cazenave Camber; starring Vicky Krieps, Antoine Reinartz, Monia Chokri

When we first meet Clémence (a prowling, leonine Vicky Krieps), she has already blown up her bourgeois life. Formerly, she was a lawyer, a wife to Laurent (Antoine Reinartz) and a mother to a young son. She walked out on all this, plus the Paris apartment and cushion of financial security, to pursue her own truth.

Now she writes candid, confrontational autofiction, straddles a motorbike and lives in a cheap, one-room dive. And lately, she has started hooking up with women. Some are serious relationships; more often, they are torrid and anonymous. Until then, the relationship between Clémence and Laurent had been amicable. But once she comes out to him, it's war. And their eight-year-old son, who lives with his father, is Laurent's weapon of choice.

Adapted from the autobiographical novels of Constance Debré, Anna Cazenave Camber's frank film charts Clémence's Kafkaesque battles with the family courts, where Laurent challenges for sole custody, arguing that her sexuality makes her unfit as a mother. Krieps is superb in a tricky, abrasive role. The single- minded discipline that the character brings to everything – from her swimming and her sex life, to her rather pretentious writing – fractures almost imperceptibly under the close-up scrutiny of an unforgiving lens.

A Child of My Own

(96 mins, 15) Directed by Maite Alberdi; starring Ana Celeste, Armando Espitia, Ángeles Cruz

The twice Oscar-nominated Chilean

documentary director Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent, The Eternal Memory) examines the extraordinary real-life case of Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza, a Mexican woman who convincingly faked an entire pregnancy. When the time came to give birth, she snatched a baby from the maternity ward of the hospital where she worked. Her claim, when the police arrested her, was that the mother had agreed to give her the child; the infant's parents denied this, and the evidence supports them.

Psychological evaluations suggest that, to some extent at least, Alejandra genuinely believed her own tale, but even this doesn't fully explain how her web of lies held as firmly and as enduringly as it did. This is a fascinating true crime feature, but it is let down by a slippery, evasive quality in the film- making, which combines clunky and rather manipulative dramatic recreations with interviews with real-life players. It streams on Netflix from 13 August.

“ Krieps is superb in a tricky, abrasive role, fracturing almost imperceptibly under the close-up scrutiny of an unforgiving lens

Bouchra

(82 mins, 15) Directed by Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani; voiced by Meriem Bennani, Ariana Faye Allensworth, Yto Barrada

Bouchra, a Moroccan lesbian film-maker living in New York, is struggling: she's navigating a recent breakup and grappling with a creative block. Then there's her relationship with her mother back in Casablanca, who is unable or unwilling to discuss her daughter's sexuality. Bouchra realises that the way forward is to confront her mother over the phone and harness the resulting telephone conversations.

What makes this already niche introspection distinctive is that, while the script is based on actual chats between co-director Meriem Bennani and her mother, all the characters are rendered as computer-animated animals. Bouchra and her family are coyotes; her ex-girlfriend seems to be either a deer or a cow (honestly, it's hard to tell, and it's even trickier to work out the reasoning behind this particular creative decision).

Still, this semi-surreal project – the first feature from film-maker Orian Barki and visual artist Bennani, and the first Moroccan feature-length animation – is at least a boldly original work.

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Critics

Architecture

The frontline of modernity

Despite the effects of war, sanctions and regime restrictions, Iranian architects are creating cutting-edge buildings that respond to climate and culture, offering lessons for the rest of the world

Rowan Moore

There's a country in the world where the art of architecture is at a high level of invention and imagination. Where traditional knowledge and digital technology combine to work magic with humble bricks, with shade and light, with winds and breezes, and with the interaction of inside and out. These are projects from which the rest of the world could learn. In particular, they demonstrate ways to address the crucial question of designing for hot weather. They also show how to build civilised homes in densely populated cities.

That country is Iran. The achievements of its architects and builders come both despite and in response to the limitations created by its government, sanctions and now a war that, among other things, has damaged world heritage sites and historic buildings such as the Golestan Palace in Tehran. "We were compelled to design under difficult conditions," says Farshad Mehdizadeh of the Tehran-based practice FMZD, "and those very conditions became our greatest architectural school."

Beautiful images of Iranian architecture – not only in Tehran but in cities across the country – have become a quiet social media phenomenon. One of the most dedicated posters is Philip Oldfield, professor of architecture at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, for whom it shows "a clear response to climate and culture". He was looking, he tells me, to find "where around the world is doing the best medium-rise housing... the 'missing middle' that challenges the idea you can either have the Shanghai model of skyscrapers or the suburban model and nothing in between". He adds: "I wasn't expecting Iran to be a world leader."

A widespread building type there is an apartment block, six or so storeys high, built on small infill sites

common in Iranian cities, which Oldfield says "give human scale". They could be seen as examples of what the British thinktank Create Streets calls "gentle density", which means using land effectively to provide homes while enhancing the areas in which they are built.

These residential buildings typically have deep balconies recessed into their facades, rather than cantilevered from them, and use screens and overhangs to create shade and ventilation. These balconies help to keep buildings cool using natural, millennia-old techniques. They create sheltered outdoor spaces that work well in a hot climate – summer temperatures often rise to the mid-30Cs in Tehran and into the 60Cs in other parts of the country.

It's important, says Mehdizadeh, to get past the expectation of developers that an architect's job involves little more than dressing the exterior of a building with something eye-catching. "The first thing [clients] often say is, 'Can you design a facade for us?' To me, that question reduces architecture to a purely two-dimensional problem, and I think that is a real tragedy." It should emerge, he says, "from the overlap of life, movement, relationships, light, space, programme, and all the interactions within a building."

Mehdizadeh and other architects create deep spaces on the outward faces of their buildings, made up of those recessed balconies, of projecting and receding bays, of pergolas and terraces, that allow both views out and seclusion, and connect the private life of a home with the public life of the street outside. In so doing they address, he says, another limitation on Iranian architects: a scarcity of commissions for public projects that might enrich urban life. Most of their work is instead on private residential buildings, but these projects' complex exercises allow them to contribute something to the world beyond the building plot.

As Oldfield points out, Iranian architects also "like to use one building material really well", an approach which he compares

favourably to a tendency in Britain, Australia and other countries to create "patchworks" of "too many finishes". In the central city of Kerman, for example, the architects MA Office have designed a residential building with facades in bamboo, a material that happened to be growing in front of the site. It forms both solid panels and shutters through which light can shine, such that the building looks at different times translucent and opaque.

They like above all to use brick, which has a long history in Iran. Architects conjure a dazzling range of moods and qualities from brick-built buildings using skills that Oldfield

has called "superhuman". The builders and architects carve and sculpt brick walls like bastions, or fold them like paper. They perforate them into screens and veils. They pattern them like textiles, and make bas reliefs of indentations and protrusions which, by increasing the amount of shadow on a wall, help modify its temperature. They create ambiguity: the same material might seem at different times heavy and light, or a solid wall and an opening shutter might at first glance look the same.

The architects Hussein Yazdi and Massoud Abedi, for example, have created one apartment block whose

facade is curved into niches and another composed as a series of staggered blocks, with an alternating pattern of sunlit solid surface, shaded voids and perforated screens. Davood Behvand and Mehdi Qaimi have designed an apartment building in Isfahan where the bricks are fixed with their short ends pointing out, such that they seem to bristle. Abar Office has designed a residential block in Mashhad, in the northeast, where the walls are moulded into shapes that are almost art deco.

Hooba Design Group, founded and led by Hooman Balazadeh, gained international recognition for a building in Tehran for the

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Classical

Clockwise from top, Kohan Cream by Hooba; the terracotta Hitra Office; Darrous Terraces by FMZD; an artist's rendering of Pardis Technology Park, still under construction. All are in Tehran. Hooba design/Patham/FMZD Projects

“ There is a degree of artistry and delight in Iranian architecture that is hard to find in comparable building types in Britain

Kohan Ceram brick company, which combines offices, apartments and a showroom. Here, they used their client's products to create a terracotta-coloured tower formed around an existing concrete structure, substantial as a castle, which stands up to a busy expressway in front of it. At the same time it is pierced with repeating circular openings, some open and some glazed, which allow light and air inside. Lit from inside at night, the massive structure seems to dissolve.

Hooba, showing the range typical of many Iranian architects, have also designed the Hitra Office and Commercial Building in Tehran, a more dynamic and playful design of sweeping horizontals and slightly projecting tiers. A “second skin” of brick, with openings enlivened by turquoise paint, is placed in front of an inner screen of glass, an arrangement that allows generous views out while providing shade.

Contemporary Iranian architecture looks modern. It's sometimes possible to see the influence of international architects such as the late Zaha Hadid. Much of it is enabled with the help of computers. At the same time it draws on what Balazadeh calls “the intelligence embedded within traditional architecture” that “contains remarkable knowledge about climate, light, material, proportion and environmental performance”. His inspirations include courtyard houses that give an “experience of gradual discovery”.

Factors contributing to the current richness of Iranian architecture include, he says, “strong schools of architecture” and “remarkable craftsmen”. But, like Mehdizadeh, he also argues that “limitations often become catalysts for creativity”. In the conditions that have prevailed in Iran for some time, “international collaboration becomes more difficult, access to technologies and financial systems becomes more complicated, and economic uncertainty changes clients' priorities.” But architects respond, for example by using materials such as brick and bamboo that do not need to be imported.

It has, for obvious reasons, not been possible to visit the country while writing to explore the political and economic context. But there is abundant evidence of a degree of artistry and delight in Iranian architecture that is hard to find in comparable building types in Britain.

Among the many devastating effects of war, the plight of architectural practices is not the most significant, but military attacks have nonetheless added another degree of difficulty. “Our office had to close temporarily during periods of conflict,” says Balazadeh, “yet architecture continues. Perhaps more slowly.”

Dreams of Philip Glass

Actor-director Phelim McDermott's witty and affecting love letter to the American composer is a true theatrical wonder

Fiona Maddocks

Tao of Glass

Soho Place, London W1; until 12 September

The Marriage of Figaro

Schwarzman Centre, Oxford; touring until 27 September

A bedroom in Manchester in the 1980s. The actor and director – inadequate terms; let's settle for omnivorous life force – Phelim McDermott sprawls on the floor, listening obsessively to an LP. His family can hardly bear the looping repetitions rumbling through the floor. It's Philip Glass's Glassworks (1982), the first album that really established the composer's public profile and gave him a cult following. The teenage McDermott fell in love with the work of the American minimalist composer-pianist. Nearly half a century on, McDermott is still in a heady swoon. Glass's music, despite diversions – to My Neighbour Totoro, operas by Mozart and Verdi, plays by Shakespeare – has shaped the director's adult life.

With his company Improbable, McDermott has spun theatrical wonders out of Glass's operas. Stagings of Abhunen, Satyagraha and The Perfect America, at English National Opera (ENO) and internationally, have bewitched fans and made converts out of Glass dissenters. He will direct Einstein on the Beach for ENO at Manchester's Aviva Studios in June next year.

A challenge of these operas is that not much happens for a long time. McDermott matches Glass's own forms of musical risk with the magic of physical theatre. Juggling, puppetry, waving, tearing, sticking bits of paper may sound like slapstick. Nothing could be further from the truth. Slow precision and beauty, the unfolding of an endless skein of bright cloth, the imperceptible movement of two people towards one another, have their own mesmerising intensity. Music and theatre meet as one.

Tao of Glass, in the round at Soho Place in its London premiere, is McDermott's own love letter to theatre and to Glass. It was first seen at Manchester international festival in 2019. No surprise

'Music and theatre meet as one': puppeteers manipulate a small boy puppet and below, Phelim McDermott in Tao of Glass. Johan Persson

to find it's a hybrid. McDermott starts the show sitting quietly in the front stalls. He is mostly alone on stage. Puppeteers manipulate a charming small boy puppet, but much of their activity is so discreet and deft as to go almost unnoticed. Together they help McDermott create the fantasy and mess that suddenly, magically, episodically, are transformed into perfect visual harmony.

McDermott says in the programme note, with charmingly mundane self-evidence, that – like many Improbable shows – this one isn't driven by a conventional narrative. Seventeen people are credited in the creative team, including music director Chris Vatalaro, designer Fly Davis, Colin Grenfell lighting, and Kirsty Housley co-directing with McDermott, who also wrote the script. A small band, predominantly violin, piano and clarinet, play 14 Glass tracks (named in the programme but flowing almost seamlessly one to another). It's funny, as well as affecting. McDermott's stamina alone makes this show remarkable, but it is far more than the result of one man's energy. After about two hours, fittingly, it's the music, in a meditative wind down, that takes us home to the close.

The Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in Oxford – named after the US Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone, who donated a record-breaking gift of £18.9m – opened to students last October and is gradually establishing the cultural programme that will run alongside the seven humanities faculties and associated institutes now housed there.

Last week, the small touring company Wild Arts brought their compact and exhilarating staging of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, directed by Danielle de Niese and conducted from the keyboard by Orlando Jopling, to the Schwarzman for a sellout performance. This was the first opera to take place there. It could scarcely have been better. A superb cast – led by Ellie Neate (Susanna) and Jack Sandison (Figaro) – and an elite band of 10 gave one of the most enjoyable performances of Figaro I have seen. Wild Arts make me optimistic for opera's future.

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Critics

Pop

Artist of the week

Sounds of a breaking heart

Welsh musician Cate Le Bon brings her unconventional breakup album to London's ICA, where she shows she's not only an artist's artist but one of the UK's most multitalented creatives

Kitty Empire

Cate Le Bon Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, SW1

The Welsh musician and producer Cate Le Bon has not come dressed for a heatwave. In the sweat lodge that is the ICA's live music space, Le Bon's tight, white, ruched, long-sleeved dress gives her the vague air of a mummy bride. A plastic headdress completes the look – or suggests holy orders. Having previously toured in chainmail, like an art-pop Joan of Arc, and donned a nun's habit on the cover of her 2022 album Pompeti, it's impressive to see her continued commitment to striking headgear and uncomfortable get-ups – to presenting her art as she wishes – even in these sweltering conditions.

An artist who defies easy categorisation, Le Bon tonight draws from her most recent three albums – all distinct, but all the work of one evolving authorial voice. Her output spans the yelping post-punk grooves of tracks such as Mother's Mother's Magazines (from 2019's Reward), the off-kilter California yacht pop of Harbour (from Pompeti) and the heart-rending synth-rock glide of Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday) from Michelangelo Dying, her latest album

from 2025. The 1980s seem to be her musical spiritual home – at least, the ethereal art-rock part of the decade rather than the era's brasher signifiers. She makes no attempts to explain her work; only uses graceful hand movements to draw shapes in the air.

Le Bon is not a household name, but she is one of the UK's most multitalented creatives; an outlier who, a decade ago, moved into the belly of the entertainment beast – to Joshua Tree, in the desert near Los Angeles – to further her career, and who once spent a year learning furniture making in order to overcome a creative block. Irish pop star CMAT has been singing her praises since 2022, joining a chorus of voices singling out Le Bon as an auteur in the British art school tradition (although she herself did not attend one). She's a musician's musician, and an ideas person.

As well as solo and collaborative albums, Le Bon has produced for far better-known artists such as American guitar heroes Wilco, avant-pop star St Vincent and, more recently, our own post-punk impressionists Dry Cleaning, joining

Le Bon has a particular way of grappling with heartbreak, and with the destabilising shock of discovering that things are not as you once saw them

'She makes no attempts to explain her work; only uses graceful hand movements to draw shapes in the air': Cate Le Bon performs at London's ICA. Sophia Evans for The Observer

the small but growing sisterhood of women taking over the means of musical production. Le Bon's shows currently start with Ivor Cutler's sung poem Women of the World in which the late Scottish poet – via the vocalist Linda Hirst – urges: 'Women of the world, take over / 'Cause if you don't, the world will come to an end.'

Le Bon is still touring Michelangelo Dying, her most forthright collection. Its concept is all too familiar; the songs were written in response to the end of her long-term relationship with musician Tim Presley, AKA White Fence (with whom she formed the duo Drinks), and her return to Wales from California. What is distinct is Le Bon's particular way of grappling with heartbreak, and with the destabilising shock of understanding that things are not as you once saw them, and seeing them anew.

In her unconventional sound-world, instruments often don't behave as you would expect. Take her use of the saxophone, played by Euan Hinshelwood. The tenor sax has one of the most recognisable signatures: a sound as shiny as the brass from which it is made. But the sax tones that run throughout Le Bon's work are a hovering presence, laden with effects, often doing the work of a guitar, or a Greek chorus – sighing, weeping, reacting. Occasionally, a surprise xylophone or accordion will speak up. Her ear is entirely nonconformist, and with it she is carving her own auditory niche.

That's not to say her songs don't have emotional impact. Moderation is, perhaps, as close to a straightforward pop hanger as Le Bon has written. 'I wanna cry, I'm out of my mind / Trying to figure it out,' she sings. That song isn't even on the harrowing Michelangelo Dying, an album that seethes at someone who has chosen to 'smoke our love' and weighs up all that has been lost. 'I thought about your mother,' she sings on Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday): 'I hope she knows I love her.'

By the encore, Hinshelwood has stripped down to his vest, and Le Bon is unfurling another stealth hit from a parallel universe. Ride, which swings like a pendulum between self-soothing ('It's all right') and the acceptance that she is astride one of life's bumpier rodeos: 'It's a ride.' Ride is just waiting to be discovered and turned into a viral TikTok about unsatisfactory Uber journeys – a sidelong way of getting this left-field talent the attention she richly deserves.

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Other albums

Pure Devotion Overmono (XL Recordings)

The retro rave movement shows

little sign of slowing down. Good Lies, Overmono's 2023 debut LP, positioned the Welsh duo of Tom and Ed Russell alongside Bicep at the crest of a wave of new dance acts skilfully reworking the wistful echo and rattle of the 1990s.

If anything, Pure Devotion goes more vintage. One brother gave the other a 1979 Roland SH-2 synthesiser as a present; the pair decided its Dogme-style limitations would form the basis for their next record. Plenty of warm analogue thrumming features on Lazbrook, or Knight in Shining Prada, an album standout. As the poet John Joseph Holt remembers his own late sibling, the track plays out like an Orbital remix of Daft Punk with the Streets guesting.

Perhaps a few too many tunes on Pure Devotion find female vocalists, live or sampled, opining about subpar love. Far stronger are the less intelligible collisions of strange revving sounds of Lockup, the staticky autonomous sensory meridian response on Gem Lingo (our now) and the distorted electronics of Slowmotion with Overmono's

dancefloor-savvy dynamics. The Russell brothers went deep into their process, baking a cymbal in a dry rub of coffee grounds, crisps and vinegar. The results of these experiments are harder to discern, but the handmade, heartfelt feel of this record convinces. Kitty Empire

Therapy at the Club Flo (EMI)

Building on the solid promise of their 2024 debut LP, British girl group Flo's second album offers a collection of heady pop and R&B full of boozy catharsis and light-as-gossamer vocal harmonies. Although they are yet to fully cut through on to the level of big pop stars, the trio of Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer and Stella Quaresma seem more confident in themselves and their storytelling prowess as they channel Destiny's Child, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Jessie J and even the self-assured pop rap of Nicki Minaj.

Like many girl groups now, Flo enjoy nostalgia. Theirs is refracted through a phone-obsessed lens; there's the Skepta-sampling phones box Call Me; Leak It, a plea to post your hottest pictures online;

and Technotronic's Pump Up the Jam becomes "Pose for the cam" on the bombastic Pose. There's a strutting exuberance to all the self-possession, cut with occasional tender vulnerability; 90s wooziness permeates songs of heartbreak, friendship and the anxiety of being high around an ex. There's some lyrical clumsiness ("Not to be dramatic, but everything feels dramatic") and stadium ballads (such as Floating) that fall flat, but with those silky vocals and their playful sensuality, Flo make good on their star potential. Tara Joshi

Cannonball Man/Woman/Chainsaw (Fiction Records)

Man/Woman/Chainsaw emerged from south London's Windmill scene – the same world that produced Black Country, New Road, Squid and Black Midi – and have spent the past few years fine-tuning their live shows into a record-worthy collection. The six-piece formed as teenagers and have developed a sound in which post-punk disorder incorporates a deep affection for pop.

Cannonball conveys the restless energy of a relentless gig circuit. But

beneath the bursts of violin, synths and shifting vocals is a strong sense of honesty. The album's disparities feel intentional, from the jazzy touches of Snakelite to the ominous build of Get Up and Dance. Euphoric, synth-driven single Nosedive leans most clearly into pop, using the image of an injured bird searching for shelter to explore the tension between freedom and security.

It's in its quietest moments that Cannonball reveals its deepest emotional pull. Lighter pares everything back, with bassist-vocalist Vera Leppänen's refrain of "I let you have my skin, I owe you everything, I let you have my skin. I'll give you everything" landing with startling intimacy. Closing track Something Else to Give leaves behind a lingering question: what remains when you have already given so much of yourself away? Georgia Evans

Monk Movements/Monk Meditations Jon Batiste (Verve)

The splayed-hand, bluesy style of pianist Thelonious Monk is one of the most instantly recognisable in jazz. With an ear for wonky melody

and deep-swung rhythm, Monk is often imitated but rarely bettered. On his latest solo double album, however, pianist Jon Batiste takes on the task of making Monk new again with reimagining of his compositions as virtuosic piano pieces on Monk Movements and as ambient introspections on Monk Meditations.

The songs on the former album fizz with ebullience, featuring Batiste's whoops of delight as he runs through muscular lines on tracks such as Blue Monk and inspiring a gleeful mood as he trips over the changes on Swan's Back In Town. Batiste is loyal to Monk's original melody and rhythmic feel throughout, making the record a tasteful yet obedient pastiche.

It's on Monk Meditations, though, that he finds affecting new ground. Leaning into the artful spaces between the notes, Batiste slows things right down to mine the plaintive mood of Reflections, while Midnight Movement is a wistful take on 'Round Midnight', and Monk's Mood embellishes the original with a swirl of choppy harmonics. Batiste establishes himself here as not just a faithful student of Monk but a worthy successor.

Ammar Kalia

Dance

The best in the business

Royal Ballet's radiant principal and the company's returning Cuban star stage two programmes that demonstrate their mutual sense of joy and drama

Sarah Crompton

Marianeela: Timeless; Carlos Acosta: Myths and Modern Masters Royal Opera House, London WC2

Marianeela Núñez and Carlos Acosta are two of the Royal Ballet's most luminous stars. She joined the company when she was just 16 and, 28 years later, is its most distinguished and radiant principal. He joined the same year, retired from classical performances in 2016 and now, at the age 53, is director of two companies: Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) and Acosta Danza.

Seeing both present their own programmes of dance over the past fortnight, you notice their shared qualities: beautifully honed classicism, an instinctive sense of drama and – above all – generosity. They both love dance and open their arms to share it with the widest possible audience.

Núñez's programme Timeless was simply sensational: a love letter not only to ballet but to the company she has called home. It opened with Jerome Robbins's In the Night, into which the choreographer packs astonishing amounts of emotion, expressed in filigree steps for three different couples.

Accompanied by Chopin nocturnes, it begins with the melting romance of Vadim Muntagirov and Fumi Kaneko, arms delicately following one another in alternate arcs, then moves to the lyrical

affection of Mayara Magri and Lukas B Brændsrod. Finally, Núñez herself appears with Matthew Ball in a passionate duet of misunderstanding and forgiveness, full of dashing exits and entrances. It's all something and nothing, and utterly gorgeous.

Then, amid a satisfyingly well-chosen and beautifully danced assortment of duets, Núñez herself performs Le Corsaire with Muntagirov, a glistening display of bravura dancing, before the sunny Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, by Balanchine, in which she and Patricio Revé make fish dives and flashing pirouettes look as easy as cleaning your teeth.

Last, there's the full-blown, one-act drama of Ashton's Marguerite

and Armand, in which Núñez is the consumptive courtesan and William Bracewell her ardent lover. Their duets of soaring lifts and clutching embraces are both stylishly performed and full of feeling. Bracewell discovers something in Núñez: a pain beneath the serenity. The whole programme is a treat.

In Myths and Modern Masters, Acosta's return to his favourite stage begins with the sharply etched glory of José Limón's The Moor's Paxune, a sophisticated compression of Shakespeare's Othello set to Purcell. First seen in 1949, it works as a series of stately variations where deadly emotion is hidden beneath courtesy, and the role of Othello perfectly suits Acosta's ability to shape every step

Marianeela Nuñez as Marguerite and William Bracewell as Armand for Marianeela: Timeless ©2026 Maria-Helena Buckley

into an expression of thought and intent. Max Maslen is a steely lago, while Beatrice Parma's Desdemona and Miki Mizutani's Emilia move with purposeful grace.

The rest of the programme is more mixed. The Nutcracker in Havana suite feels detached from its moorings but does provide the sentimental pleasure of seeing Acosta perform with his 14-year-old daughter, Alla Acosta Holland, last seen on this stage in 2015, giving her father a bouquet after his final Royal Ballet performance.

Elsewhere, Vaganova's old-fashioned Diana and Actaeon duet gives Cuban BRB dancers Vasiel Hodelin Bello and Katherine Ochoa a thrilling chance to show off; Nosotros, by Beatriz Garcia and Raúl Reinoso, is a moody coupling for Acosta and Amisaday Naara; and Christopher Bruce's Rosster to songs by the Rolling Stones is an opportunity for the talent of Acosta Danza to strut their stuff alongside their boss. The breadth of Acosta's smile at the end shows just how much fun it has been.

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Books

History

A Roman tragedy

Cicero's stratospheric rise to political power in the Republic was matched by his swift and violent fall, as detailed in this fast-paced and admirably accessible biography, writes Edith Hall

Orator: The Life of Cicero and the End of the Roman Empire Catharine Edwards

Hutchinson Heinemann £30, pp464

Cicero was a hugely talented non-aristocrat directly involved in some of the most tumultuous events in ancient history. His life story includes a brief period in 63BC when he held the highest magistracy in the Roman Republic and was feted as the "father of the fatherland", but ends with his brutal murder on the orders of Mark Antony, who demanded that his hands and decapitated head be displayed on the speakers' rostrum in the Roman forum.

Cicero left to posterity a more voluminous body of work than any other Roman republican author, including legal and political orations and treatises on ethics, rhetoric, politics and theology, as well as an enormous collection of nearly 900 personal letters addressed to friends, family, allies and political enemies. Much of this vast corpus is directly about himself; almost all of it is so indirectly.

Born in 106BC to a prosperous equestrian family in Arpinum, amid the central Italian mountains south-east of Rome, Cicero was not of senatorial descent. His exceptional gifts as an orator and unrivalled command of law allowed him (after studying philosophy and rhetoric in Rome, Athens and Rhodes) such a speedy rise, especially after his successful prosecution of Gaius Verres for corruption and crimes committed as governor of Sicily.

Cicero climbed the magistrate's career ladder, being appointed quaestor, aedile, praetor, and finally consul in 63BC. His popularity reached its zenith when, as consul,

he uncovered a plot being hatched to overthrow the Roman Republic led by Catiline, a disaffected aristocrat whose supporters included destitute veterans. Cicero denounced Catiline in the excoriating Catilinarian orations, including the much-repeated line, "How long, at last, Catiline, will you abuse our patience?" Catiline fled and died in battle the following year.

As a natural conservative and inveterate defender of the traditional institutions of the Republic, Cicero tried to oppose the autocratic threat posed by the rise of Pompey, Caesar, and later Antony. He was devastated to be exiled in 58BC, but when he was recalled a year later, he became embroiled in the incessant, venomous realignment of factions. Once Julius Caesar was assassinated, Cicero appointed himself chief critic of Mark Antony, delivering in the senate and public assembly his ferocious invectives, the Philippics, so named to mark the inspiration he had found in the Greek orator Demosthenes's polemics against the expansionist Macedonian monarch Philip II. Once the Second Triumvirate coalesced, Antony demanded Cicero's execution.

There have been at least a hundred biographies of Cicero since the Florentine historian Leonardo Bruni's Cicero Novus (itself heavily dependent on Plutarch's ancient Life of Cicero), and Petrarch's two emotive letters addressed to the ancient orator's shade; both of these were published posthumously in the 1470s. They elevated Cicero to the status of heroic exemplar of Renaissance humanist virtue. The 21st century alone has already seen the publication of at least 13 studies of Cicero's life. When I learned that Catharine Edwards, professor of classics and ancient history at Birkbeck, was working on another, I asked myself whether the world really stood in need of it. But she has succeeded in saying much that is genuinely new, and saying it so well, that the answer to my question must be resoundingly in the affirmative.

The biography that has reached by far the largest international audience of general readers is Anthony Everitt's Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician (2004). This fast-paced, novelistic narrative is exciting and admirably accessible, but presents Cicero far too one-sidedly as a

principled spokesman of liberty who died tragically in the defence of a collapsing republic. At the other extreme, Andrew Lintott's Cicero As Evidence: A Historian's Companion (2008) is both forbiddingly dense and so critical of Cicero's failings that his human complexity is erased. Edwards's triumph is to offer even the reader new to ancient Rome a lucid story told in approachable prose, while delicately revealing the intricate nuances of Cicero's own self-presentation and sometimes

patent self-deception. In dissecting his psychological development, her book is as thrillingly entertaining as Robert Harris's celebrated trilogy of Cicero novels, Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator, but Orator is also, from an academic perspective, rigorous and wholly reliable. She keeps her main narration nimble and uncluttered, but supplies glorious, full-colour illustrations, helpful maps, precise source references in endnotes, and an annotated guide to further reading.

The clarity of Edwards's explanations of complex phenomena reveals her decades of experience in the classroom; she knows it is a challenge for readers to understand the political demands as well as managerial and financial tasks involved in administering Roman provinces, and so guides us patiently through Cicero's formative stint as quaestor (entry-level magistrate) in Sicily and later proconsulship of Cilicia. She beautifully evokes his frustration at

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This week

The roots of dubstep Ammar Kalia on Lauren Martin's immersive and authoritative history of the electronic music subgenre

The Spinster Cookbook Daisy Lynch savours Eli Davies's comfort-read of a book detailing her solo culinary adventures

Books

observer.co.uk 09.08.26

25

Susie Dent The Countdown wordsmith reveals his summer reading list and talks about her new novel Death Writ Large

being in the east, absent from Rome, collecting taxes and conducting diplomacy with Parthia, at a time of rising tension between Caesar and Pompey. The taut historical narratives in the standout chapters "Coming to Terms with Caesar" and "The Ides of March" enthrallingly retell some of the most spectacular events that took place in Cicero's life with a firm eye on the sources and a wide camera lens that keeps the reader focused on dramatic scenes with large character casts and sudden plot twists. The same applies to her restrained account of Cicero's own miserable death scene.

But Edwards is a rare figure in classical scholarship. Ever since her pathbreaking debut monograph The Politics of Immortality in Ancient Rome (1993), her publications have spanned a wide range of Latin genres across the cultural spectrum. Many of this book's virtues are a result of her deft command of ancient philosophy, rhetorical theory, literature and iconography, as well as historical sources. Some of her best writing is far more peaceful, explaining Cicero's immersion in Greek philosophy – he regarded Plato and the orator Demosthenes as models of style, and Aristotle as the model of argumentative method. She introduces apposite quotations from poets including Horace, Lucan and Juvenal. She also supplies a fascinating account of Cicero's own philhellene taste in home décor and statuary, and paints a delicious word-picture of his home town, Arpinum, skilfully deploying his own memories of his childhood.

Many Cicero scholars do not enjoy his emotional volatility, and either evade or denigrate the anxiety, touchiness and peevishness conveyed so vividly by his letters. He often expressed panic and dread, especially after he had directed the suppression of the revolt led by Catiline, and during the crisis when Clodius retaliated by using his tribunate to pass legislation that would force Cicero into exile. His hatred of Clodius bordered on obsession. He was swift to indignation and felt political slights deeply. He underwent extremes of grief after the deaths of his daughter Tullia and of friends and allies. He was terrified of appearing weak, but suffered from shame and severe self-doubt, which led him to seek reassurance needily from his friend Atticus; but these feelings were paradoxically combined with a high opinion of himself, his oratorical prowess and his achievements. His immodest self-satisfaction about his Sicilian quaestorship and the suppression of Catiline can be grating.

Edwards, however, embraces the richness of the evidence for his psychological capriciousness, and her dispassionate portrait of this passionate man is most effective. She lets him speak to us

'An exceptional orator with an unrivalled command of the law': Cicero. Getty Images

Edwards lets Cicero speak to us through his own words, unafraid of the contradictions and second-guessing they imply

through his own words, unafraid of the contradictions and second-guessing they imply. She sensitively explores how political upheavals in his youth, especially the bloodshed and terror before, during and after Sulla's dictatorship (92-79BC), must have provided fertile ground for the evolution of his quixotic temperament. She suggests that his primary (and wholly unrealistic) motive was to protect peace at any cost; two of his most celebrated phrases are "In times of war, the law falls silent" and "An unjust peace is better than a just war". Edwards's psychological subtlety means that we share her regret at his near-silence on his relationships with his parents, especially his mother, and her question mark over what his cryptic remarks about his first wife, Terentia, may conceal.

The evocation of a republic teetering on the edge of autocracy has an obvious topical relevance. It is intriguing to wonder who might offer the best contemporary parallel to Cicero, as lawyer and defender of constitutional order (Jonathan Sumption? Brenda Hale?), soaring orator (Volodymyr Zelensky?) or public moral philosopher (Rowan Williams?). Cicero was all three, for which he must be saluted, whatever one's view of his failings and poor decisions. But Edwards does not impose contrived comparisons.

Instead, the biography ends with two chapters discussing the transhistorical impact made by Cicero's life and work, both on later antiquity and since the Renaissance. This would have pleased Cicero, whose undoubted personal vanity made him much concerned with his historical legacy. Plutarch records that he said he wanted to make the reputation of the Cicero family more glorious for posterity than that of any of Rome's noblest families.

Edwards is one of the few experts on antiquity who can write just as well on the "reception" of classical culture in later epochs. But whole books have been devoted to the use and abuse of Cicero in more recent times, and she has needed to be selective. The extent of historical figures' impact can be measured well by reaction against them: I would have liked to hear more about the way Catiline has been championed as an advocate for the poor, debt-ridden and dispossessed, especially in the socialist and communist traditions, which have their roots in Enlightenment thinkers (Montesquieu, Voltaire), Ibsen's Catalina portrays Cicero's arch-enemy as a defender of the oppressed, and Brecht saw Catiline as a misrepresented agent of class struggle. But this regret is no criticism: it is evidence that when I finished this important book I found myself wanting more.

Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £25.50 (15% off RRP)

Paperback of the week

By Chris Power

A generations-spanning history of the race to weaponise nuclear power, from theoretical physics to the Trinity test and the world's first Super Bomb

Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age Frank Close Penguin, £14.99, pp.336

The mathematician Stanislaw Ulam was teaching at the University of Wisconsin when he received the summons to Los Alamos in October 1943. All he was told, as Frank Close describes in Destroyer of Worlds, his "deep history of the nuclear age", was that he would be doing secret, interesting, and important work. Visiting the university library to borrow a guidebook to New Mexico, he found on the checkout card the names of several colleagues who had recently disappeared from his department.

Close begins his fascinating book with the Trinity test – the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the US in New Mexico in 1945 – but a full account of the Manhattan Project of which it was a part only arrives much later. Instead, he goes back 50 years, to 1895, with 24-year-old Ernest Rutherford digging potatoes in New Zealand. If James Watt is the father of the first industrial revolution (steam) and Michael Faraday the second (electricity), Close identifies Rutherford as father to the third.

In Manchester in 1917, his potato-digging days long behind him, Rutherford split the atom by bombarding nitrogen atoms with alpha particles. It's one of a fusillade of bombardments in this book: uranium with neutrons, lithium with protons, deuterium with high-energy deuterons. Over the decades these procedures move from laboratory benches to purpose-built devices to large-scale installations. As the Danish physicist Niels Bohr said of building an atomic bomb, "you would need to turn the whole country into a factory".

That's what the Manhattan Project did. But while an awesome amount of physics, maths and engineering innovation took place during its lifespan, impelled by the fear that Hitler's scientists would develop a nuclear weapon before the allies, it was largely a matter of turning theory into practice. The most involving part of Close's book looks at the 45 years before this, in which that body of theory

– about what lay within the atom, and how to harness its power (if, indeed, there was much power to harness) – took shape. The wrong turnings are as interesting as the breakthroughs.

The fervid excitement of the period is well captured, and Close's mastery of his material is never in doubt. The challenge for a book of this type is to bridge the gap between those with a decent grip on the science and the rest of us. My physics career ended with a 19% exam result but Close didn't lose me too many times, despite not dumbing things down.

This is a global story, populated with familiar names: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, J Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller. One that was new to me was Ettore Majorana, a member of Fermi's "Via Panioperna boys" – a group that not only did physics but hiked and skied together. Majorana was an extraordinary theoretician who was reluctant to publish, considering his stunning insights "trivial" or obvious. He might have been a "second Newton" had it not been for his early death in 1938.

I was also less aware of the German chemist Ida Noddack, as well as the Austrian physicist Lise Meitner, who was central to the discovery of nuclear fission. This was a vital step in the weaponisation of nuclear science, but when Meitner was invited to join the Manhattan Project she refused, saying: "I will have nothing to do with a bomb."

Ulam had no such qualms. At Los Alamos he worked with Teller on the problems besetting the so-called "Super Bomb", a hydrogen-based weapon first tested on Halloween 1952, and many orders of magnitude more destructive than the weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Close more than once calls the H-bomb a "monstrosity". On Teller's blackboard at Los Alamos, Close writes, was a list of potential variants. The final, most powerful one bore the name "Backyard", because moving it anywhere was pointless: wherever it was detonated, it would kill everyone on Earth.

Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £13.49 (10% off RRP)

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Books

Music

Welcome to the party

The creators of dubstep trace the history of the electronic music subgenre from smoke-filled bedrooms in Croydon to its dilution on the world's dancefloors. By Ammar Kalia

Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep Lauren Martin

Velocity Press, £39.99, pp320

One of my earliest and most formative clubbing experiences was spent in a church basement in Brixton in 2010. Age 16 and blinded by dry ice, it wasn't the thrill of gaining entry to a club underage that made the night memorable but its overwhelming sound. The bass pumping through the speaker stacks was so intense it became a physical presence, the frequencies passing through my body making my organs quiver and the fillings in my teeth rattle. I had never before heard music with this much emphasis on the low end. There were no vocals and few melodies, just the insistence of bass pressure creating tension, overwhelm and then meditative release. I was perturbed and compelled in equal measure.

That night was the fifth birthday bash for seminal south London collective DMZ, a group of self-taught producers who at the turn of the 21st century helped invent the new sound of dubstep. It is also the end point of Aftershock, music writer Lauren Martin's encyclopaedic and engaging oral history of the movement.

Charting the rise of the dance music subgenre from the late 1990s until the early 2010s, Aftershock features interviews with 28 scene figures, each addressing the golden question that every music industry executive asks their harried talent-

scouting teams: how does a sound start and a scene coalesce?

Opening in Croydon – “an incestuous town with fuck all going on,” according to one of Martin’s most entertaining interviewees, producer Loefah – that question seems to have a simple enough answer. In the pre-streaming and pre-CD DJing era, youngsters and wannabe DJs still gathered around record shops, developing tastes by riffing through vinyl racks curated by the staff who were artists in their own right. At Croydon’s Big Apple Records, one such tastemaker, Hatcha, became instrumental to a group of ravers, gamers and school dropouts searching for the next phase in the UK dancefloor continuum. The syncopated two-step sound of garage had become overly flashy and the frenetic breakbeats of drum’n’bass too loud and self-referential. Producers were aiming for something more trance-inducing and sparse. The menacing, bass-focused sound of dubstep was born.

Casual clubbers will probably recognise the term dubstep thanks to its misappropriation. Often associated with American acts such as Skrillex, who has filled arenas with an aggressive, bass-heavy sound that focuses on the melodic build-up to an earth-shattering “drop”, this form of dubstep was, Martin writes, the death knell of the genre. Her mission is to return the term to its DIY, London-based roots, delving into the smoke-filled bedrooms and poorly attended debut parties that birthed the sound.

A limitation of the music oral-history format is often a lack of analysis and assessment of a scene. When left to its makers and players – those in the DJ booth – it can be difficult to parse what the experience and emotion is actually like on the dancefloor. Thankfully, in Aftershock, Martin manages to draw the best out of her cast of fascinating characters to recount in immersive style how it was out on the floor as well as behind the scenes.

Among the compelling voices are Loefah, whose 2004 track Horror Show, with its skittering, endless sub-bass, helped create a genre template. His expletive-filled recollections are full of insight, detailing how dubstep started out the summer after he finished college, when he would spend time with DMZ founders Mala and Coki. In his bedroom the trio would “smoke weed and fags, mix records, make beats on [music software] Reason and play The Sims on rotation”. Eventually, “we were making our stuff un-danceable and people were getting annoyed with us”, he says, forcing them to put on their own DMZ parties in Brixton. During these nights, the crowd became so energised they “used to reach over the decks and pull the tracks back themselves [to play parts of them again]. There were DMZ sets where someone would play for two hours and in those two hours, they’d play 10 tunes because there were so many rewinds.”

Mala, meanwhile, acts as the elder sage to Loefah’s imp. The dreadlocked former Millwall youth

Dubstep pioneer and DMZ-collective collaborator Benga crowdsurfs at the RockNess festival in 2010. Alamy

footballer – who coined the mantra “meditate on bassweight” – is fascinating on the spiritual aspects of this bass-forward music. “A digital, mystical music was being created and I had absolutely no idea how it was coming out,” he says of the genre’s minimalist focus. “Silence is just as important as the sound and it’s the simplicity that allows people to have a free mind while listening to music. If there’s too much going on, if it takes up too much thinking power, that simplicity goes.”

Between these expertly gleaned insights, Martin threads a wider sociohistorical commentary. We hear how working-class teenagers such as Skream and Benga taught themselves to produce music on video-game software available on PlayStation and Atari consoles – a lo-fi medium that would come to shape dubstep’s harsh sound. The 2007 smoking ban forced the placid weed-smoking crowd outside for their joints and encouraged harder drugs and harder audiences into the club. In turn, the moody, mercurial nature of dubstep became sidelined in favour of faster and more aggressive music, and the arrival of online file-sharing saw the popularity of this new, hostile dubstep explode overseas. “The sound had gone very big, very American and very loud,” Skream says, gesturing towards the maximalist EDM music that still dominates the US festival circuit today. In the UK, meanwhile, a more palatable, more melodic version of dubstep took hold in the introspective music of artists including James Blake and Mount Kimble, who were labelled “post-dubstep”.

The question of how a sound and scene dies, rather than rises, is a constant theme of Aftershock. While Martin’s interviewees are ebullient in their nostalgia, the shadow of the commercialised 2010s looms large. Skream expresses regret over his partying antics as the money began to flow, while others – such as his right-hand producer Benga – are absent from the book entirely. In 2015, Benga revealed his diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which he believes was partly brought on by excessive touring.

Still, there is hope in the persistence of acts including Mala and Loefah, who continue to perform today. Instead of a navel-gazing celebration of the past – a “you had to be there” history – Aftershock can be read as a template for future originality. These producers “were not weighed down by history and did not feel obligated to rehash the past to prove their knowledge or worth,” Martin writes in her epilogue. “They charged forward.” It’s a credo that artists today could employ to ensure a new generation of kids continue to have their minds blown on the dancefloor.

Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £35.99 (10% off R&P) with free P&P

Three books on Night trains

Chosen by Dan Richards

Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train by Monisha Rajesh (2025)

Monisha Rajesh has ridden the rails worldwide and chronicled her journeys in books beloved of globe-trollers and armchair adventurers alike. Her most recent is a hymn to the romance, resurgence and utility of sleeper trains. This is an immersive travelogue, often funny and always thoughtful. Sleepers may be compartmentalised, but for Rajesh they’re never sequestered, nor do they exist in a vacuum. Night trains move through a troubled world, providing a platform for reflection and conversations with fellow travellers.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1935) “The murderer is with us – on the train now.” Much

of what happens in Christie’s caper could only take place on a sleeper: a gruesome killing in a locked cabin; a cast of suspects trapped by an avalanche, able to drink themselves erratic in a bougie dining car. This is a unique collision of glamour, class, grime and camp, and Hercules Patriot is fantastically fractious throughout. “If you will forgive me for being personal – I do not like your face,” he tells a rotter not long for the world.

Train Songs Edited by Sean O’Brien and Don Paterson (2013) “This is the night mail crossing the

border / Bringing the cheque and the postal order.” Will Auden’s Night Mail, written to accompany a 1936 GPO documentary, still stirs the steamy gooseflesh 90 years on. Train Songs marshals a rollicking retinue of poems and lyrics leading locomotion, including Jean Sprackland’s The Skipped Train, Philip Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings and Wendy Coper’s Indeed, his True. But chief among the nocturnal numbers is Norman MacCaig’s gloriously crabby Sleeping Compartment.

Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark by Dan Richards is published by Canongote

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Food

Table for one?

Channelling Barbara Pym, Sex and the City and more, Eli Davies rustles up a warm and witty exploration of her solo mealtime adventures, writes Daisy Lynch

The Spinster Cookbook: Culture, Politics and Pleasure in the Single Woman's Kitchen Eli Davies

The Indigo Press, £14.99, pp272

I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of cooked meals I ate during my first few months living alone. I had just moved to a new city, and my tedious commute times from university made picking up a pan and a spatula each evening feel overwhelming and tiresome. When I did have time to cook, I felt as though I was wasting food and money by simply cooking it for myself alone. Food is rarely sold in a quantity suitable for one, while recipes automatically default to family-sized portions.

I had expected that cooking with only myself in mind would be easy, relaxing even, knowing I could make meals exactly the way I liked them, and removing the worry of disappointing anyone else. However, I found that, with no one else to hold me accountable, suggest new recipes, or to simply help with the cost of acquiring food in the first place, I slipped quickly into the habits of toast and frozen pizza – everything else felt like a waste.

This is a feeling Eli Davies knows all too well. The Spinster Cookbook acknowledges that the narrative around food across cultures has always been one of sharing, often wrapped up in the package of domesticity. Large, elaborate

meals are for dinner parties, visitors and holidays, not for the single woman alone in her flat. What does our relationship with food and cooking look like, however, if we take everyone but ourselves out of the picture?

The idea for this book came to Davies when reading Barbara Pym's 1961 novel No Food Return of Love, specifically a scene in which one single woman hosts another for dinner, unpacking a modern and exotic range of "delicatessen- sourced treats". In the same year, Davies points out, the Observer journalist Katharine Whitehorn published her seminal book Cooking in a Bedsitter.

Guided by these writers and others, including Kathleen Le Riche and MFK Fisher, Davies examines the kitchen habits of the single woman by way of a memoir of all the meals that have steered her through heartbreaks and hangovers.

From the "too-tired-to-cook" dinner of vodka and toast, to the overly ambitious tradition of the Sunday roast, she has written a manifesto for spinsterhood in the kitchen in which cooking is no longer an act of service by women to others, or a necessity of the traditional mealtime schedule. Rather, cooking ought to be something done for the mere pleasure of doing so, as and when you want to do it, and only if you feel like cooking at all.

Each chapter centres around a

personal story from the author's life, such as how the first thing Davies cooked for herself as a newly single woman fresh out of a nine-year relationship was a fried egg. From this moment on, that simple meal has come to represent a kind of wider self-sufficiency and recovery, arguing in true spinster style that actually "the ideal number of people to cook an egg for is one". By contrast, a date was once ruined by a roast dinner that accidentally projected a premature picture of domesticity and ended up souring the mood: "Why was I drowning my desire for this hot man in a stodgy roast dinner?"

The Spinster Cookbook also delves into the history of cooking and domesticity, alongside representations of the cooking habits of the spinster in popular culture – from the neglected kitchens of Sex and the City to Toni Morrison's unconventional Pilate in Song of Solomon – suggesting that the single woman has always struggled to balance her Donna Reed ideals of perfect domesticity and the temptation of M&S picky bits.

Each chapter concludes with two thematically relevant recipes for the reader to try, ranging in ambition and with refreshingly original twists: "Pasta and Pesto" appropriately ends with instructions for a pappardelle with grilled courgettes, lightly soured by lemon zest, whereas "The Spinster Dinner Party" offers an uncomplicated steak and vegetable main course that would impress any hungry party guest. Here, Davies gives us an opportunity to put into practice the spinster ideal of cooking for one in all its deliciously selfish glory.

Even something as simple as toast can be made into a labour of love – enjoyed on its own with copious amounts of butter, as a comfort food when you're sick, or embellished with a fresh, garlicky bruschetta topping. What matters is less what you have for dinner, but the re-centring of the act of cooking itself, free from the pressures, expectations or preferences of anyone else in the household.

Seasoned with witty but deeply personal anecdotes, pop culture references and feminist theory, The Spinster Cookbook is a warm, humorous read from start to finish, and certainly relatable to all fellow single women who have also sat on their kitchen floor with a sandwich on a Friday night in place of a "proper meal".

The Sunday Poem

Wolf Malene Engelund

I need to tell you, creature to creature, locked on either side of the firs and the fences, that your kin are spreading across old Europa's body. They are sleeping in the warmth of her arm pits, breeding pups in the hollows beneath her ribs and some, some of them survive it all. I have too though I have neared the edge of what is to feel human and while I have come here to understand how you carry on, it is too much to ask. To really know you, mottled brother of the golden jackal, I would have to enter your mouth, travel down your throat to where it all begins – the love and the loss of it, the birth of the howl.

Malene Engelund is a writer, translator and art critic. Her collection Gather will be published by Corsair in April 2027

Illustration by Chris Riddell

Mail: @channell@Morristown Images, UK

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Books

Graphic novel of the month

The man who came to stay

Emil Wilson offers a touching, semi-fictionalised family memoir, set in the early days of the Aids epidemic, through the facsimile pages of a teenage diary, writes Killian Fox

The Nightingales Emil Wilson Jonathan Cape, £25, pp416

Emil Wilson's debut graphic novel isn't a graphic novel at all, but a sketchbook belonging to his sister Lou. Or so it appears. The black front cover, with its elastic closure, is reproduced at the outset. As you flick through, drawings and text move freely across the pages, without panels to structure them, framed on each spread by the sketchbook's outline. It's as though the sum total of Wilson's involvement was merely to take the pages of this striking family artefact, which serves as a diary of sorts for a summer four decades ago, and scan them one by one. Of course, closer inspection proves otherwise.

Here's the set-up: it's 1985 and Lou is on the brink of her 18th birthday. High school is winding down. In a few months she'll be heading off to college in a nearby town, as her brother Emil did last September, though what she really wants to do is move to New York City. Aside from a recent mass-poisoning attempt by a religious

'Drawings and text move freely across the pages, framed by the sketchbook's outline': The Nightingales by Emil Wilson.

cult, nothing exciting ever happens in smalltown Oregon.

Then one evening her father announces that he's invited a man from his office to stay with them. The man, named Jim, has been kicked out of his apartment and has nowhere else to go. On top of that, he has cancer, or so Lou's mother says. But Lou senses there's

something else going on here that she isn't being told about.

At their first meeting, Lou sketches Jim from various oblique angles, gradually revealing a gaunt man with a moustache and glasses accompanied by two fluffy white dogs. She does this with other characters too, drawing them repeatedly with slight variations as though searching their faces and bodies for some deeper truth. But Jim proves especially compelling, not least when he starts regaling her with stories of his time on the New York gay scene.

It soon emerges that Jim has Aids. It's the early days of the epidemic when, as Wilson writes, 'more effort was spent judging the sick than

The bond that Lou forms with Jim as his condition worsens is extremely moving

trying to help them'. Jim's landlord turled him out, calling him a 'sick fruit'. Paramedics refuse to handle him. Even Lou's mother, Annemarie, is aghast at Jim's presence in their house, fearing moral as well as pathogenic contagion.

Annemarie is a hyper-protective mother who would rather alienate her children than expose them to risk. Lou plumbs the sources of her mother's bitterness, reflecting on her cosseted childhood and underwhelming marriage. In one of the book's frequent flights of fancy, she digs into Annemarie's inner life by staging conversations between her and a cigarette-smoking Virgin Mary. She takes a similarly playful

approach with her hard-to-read father, Don, presenting his life story in the form of a user's manual, as though he's a gadget whose workings can be revealed in several easy steps.

Such imaginative flights – Lou also casts Jim's Pomeranians as the hosts of a glitzy TV talk show – provide some of the book's most memorable moments. They also suggest that this is more than a teenage girl's illustrated diary. In the author's note at the end, Wilson explains that though the basic facts of the story are true – his father did invite a co-worker with Aids and his dogs to move in with the family in 1985 – he took several liberties with it. His sister and parents have been fictionalised, and the main inspiration for Jim came from a man Wilson later met in New York while volunteering for an Aids charity.

These distortions do not reduce the impact of the book. The bond that Lou forms with Jim as his condition worsens is extremely moving. In return for her friendship and care, he gives her advice that sets her life on a different, less fearful course – though it runs contrary to her mother's wishes. If I have a criticism, it's that the illustrations, in spite of their sketchiness, express the story more powerfully than the text. In prose, Wilson is prone to belabouring the point.

That said, the sketchbook format that Wilson, a San Francisco-based art director, has created here is effective. It has various precursors – diaristic novels, comics borrowing the aesthetics of diaries right down to the ruled pages – but I've never seen it realised quite like this before.

Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £22.50 (10% off RRP)

From: Date: 4 Dec at 13:33 Subject: Re: Your Vitsoe order To: email@vitsoe.com

Thank you Mirko.

Only just installed. More books to come... Installed it on my own. With this super system you don't need extra hands. And I am far from a 'handy man'.

Kind regards, Pascal

VITSOE

We'd like to thank Pascal from Antwerp, Belgium, for allowing us to share their feedback

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Books

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29

Susie Dent

'We hang on for dear life to the coattails of English'

Countdown's word expert on Oxford's hidden underbelly, her new crime novel Death Writ Large, and the politics of the couch potato. By Ellen Peirson-Hagger

Susie Dent, 61, is a lexicographer, etymologist and broadcaster best known for her appearances in Dictionary Corner on the Channel 4 programme Countdown. She is also the author of numerous nonfiction books on language, as well as two novels. Her first, Guilty By Definition, was the bestselling hardback crime debut of 2025. Its follow-up, Death Writ Large, follows the same cast of characters – staff at the Clarendon English Dictionary in Oxford – whose lexicographic skills come in useful when police investigate a dead body and the appearance of mysterious graffiti symbols around the city.

Why did pairing lexicography and crime feel apt for you?

For decades I've talked about lexicographers as word detectives. We use much the same language: we look for evidence, clues and footprints, and in terms of data collection, there's quite a lot of parallels between being a crime detective and a word detective – although the stakes are obviously very different.

How did you settle on your core trio of lexicographers?

In Guilty By Definition, the trio's colleague Simon says: "It's like looking at Klimt's painting [The Three Ages of Woman]" – the crone, the suited mother, and the child. They are all at very different stages of their lives. I put my heart and soul into Martha, but age-wise, I'm much closer to Alex. I aspire to be more Alex – she's sassy and savvy. Safi is insatiably curious and often rides roughshod over people's feelings because she hasn't quite learned to bring it in. And Martha lives in her head – entirely like me. It really appealed to me to have three women at very different stages, yet who have this bond.

Oxford feels like a character as much as Martha and her colleagues do.

I did want to make Oxford a character. Dickens does that so beautifully with London, and I also love Donna Tart because she does something very similar with the art world underbelly in Amsterdam and Vegas. It was important for me to show a city that is so often portrayed with its classic dreaming spires. But there are darker corners

'There's quite a lot of parallels between being a crime detective and a word detective': Susie Dent. Billie Scheepers

as well. The Oxford that the police see is so different from the one the tourists see.

How did you end up working in lexicography?

It was complete serendipity that I fell into dictionaries. I studied German. After uni I wanted to work in publishing, and it took me a year to get the interview at Oxford University Press. I was an assistant editor on bilingual dictionaries. After five or six years, English dictionaries also came under my remit and I became interested in English lexicography and more involved with the Oxford English Dictionary.

What interested you about it?

Their team has the best gig in the world. There is magic behind their computer screens because they are looking at these vast, billion-word

databases of language, and they are able to track the trajectory of a word from its very beginnings, which might be a millennium ago, and see its permutations right to the present day. They will be looking at the words that are breaking through the surface, the ones that are sinking, and it's all in real time. Their job is to impose some structure on a language that is forever running away. Samuel Johnson put it beautifully when he said lexicographers "will forever be chasing the sun". Once you've accepted that, you hang on for dear life, on to the coattails of English, and go for the ride.

In your new novel, DI Oliver Caldwell accuses Martha of living in an ivory tower with her lexicography. Do you think it plays an important social role? The aim of lexicography is to give

'I did want to make Oxford a character. Dickens does that so beautifully with London'

a true description of the state of a language at the time, and so you might be giving a description that people don't want, and they might petition for it to be changed, or they might petition for a word to go out altogether.

When I worked at OUP, there was a protest outside by the British Potato Council because they didn't like the word "couch potato" – they thought this was telling people that potatoes weren't nutritious, and they wanted us to replace it with "couch lout". But English is entirely a democracy. We've never had an academy who tells us what we can and cannot use. It is not a lexicographer's job to militate against usage. I think where we can really make a difference is with the examples that we choose, and to make sure that those don't replicate biases or prejudices. So there is a real responsibility there.

Do you have a favourite recent etymological discovery?

It was the simplest word and I had never made the connection before. It's the word "strand"; "to be stranded". In German, a beach is der Strand – so to be stranded, to be beached up, like the tide's coming or gone out, and you are literally stranded. That gave me the greatest pleasure in recent weeks.

Which crime writers inspire you?

Agatha Christie, who is often turned to as comfort reading, and I did exactly that when I was younger. But so many of her stories are about murder for really ordinary human reasons – her killers aren't usually monsters, which makes them darker. And I have to mention Donna Tart again: she talks about how the love of beauty can veer off into obsession or self-destruction. She's got a real intellectual intensity to characters – it's amazing, but also quite corrupting.

What are your summer reading plans?

After I left Oxford, there was a slight fear in me to return to the places that had been so magical during my university days. And I'm a bit like this with reading. If something becomes special, I become very fearful of going back to it, lest the spell be broken. But that is exactly what I'm doing with the pile of books that I have in front of me at the moment – I'm going back to books I haven't dared reread for decades. So I have Der Schimmelreiter [by Theodor Storm], which was the first German story I fell in love with; Sons and Lovers [by DH Lawrence], which has yellowing pages, in fact the pages are even falling out; and Thomas Mann – Death in Venice.

Death Writ Large is published by Zaffre (£20). Order a copy from observershop.co.uk for £18 (10% off RRP)

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Puzzles

Guess the picture by Laura Cumming

This week's question: Name the painter and his nation (above). Answer next Sunday.

Last week's detail came from Sir William Nicholson's portrait of the great English gardener Gertrude Jekyll in 1920. Jekyll was in her late 70s when she sat for the dandyish Nicholson, who portrays her as an eminent Victorian in a long, dark dress, even though she was a pioneer of modern horticulture. She had already designed more than 300 gardens, expressing her colour theory of plants as if she were a painter. Here she sits patiently waiting for the session to be over, her greatly gifted hands a salad of wilting marks. Nicholson was generally more interested in objects than people. Later that same year, he painted Jekyll's boots, in what would become a perpetually popular postcard.

Cinema Connect

Each week we show three stills. Guess the films in question and the screenwriter who connects them. (Bonus point if you can put them in chronological order.)

Set by Killian Fox Answers on page 31

Everyman crossword No. 4,164

Across

1 Freely obtains seats (4) 3 Starting to crawl - and fall; our son's wobbly (2,3,5) 9 After starters of awfully creamy rissoles, Everyman's beginning to see a bit of a spread? (4) 10 Having made alterations to some rugs where visitors sleep (5,5) 12 Reluctance to having your part in something noticed? (5,6) 15 Coerce fierce type to accept love (7) 16 Poised, aquiver, before House's final instalment (7) 17 Loudly repulsed; tick on woodland creature in range (7) 19 Filming evidently proving problematic? Have a break (4,3) 20 To have and to hold? (11) 23 Singer following multi-voice song in competition (5,5) 24 Plan in E End; hole up in this location (4) 25 Legitimate position of chess player's hand (5,5) 26 Kitty to circle back (4)

Down

1 Piqued, as edges of four sofa beds bashed up (7,3) 2 Spreads out arms and a medal (10) 4 Found in northern EU (Trondheim), something small and free of charge (7) 5 Chopped sage and piece of lordo: an Italian dish (7) 6 Help following mishaps if it's dark and it's stormy (5-3,4) 7 Represented initially: Uranian fleet overhead, supposedly? (4)

8 Blonde perhaps going after small band (4) 11 Subordinate to assist with con (6,6) 13 Three-card trick seen on film in S American capital (10) 14 Spooner tells us: Franklin's elevated item for service (6,4) 18 Member of a family who may have performed many hits (7) 19 Smaller around North, and higher pitched (7) 21 Region better ventilated, did you say? (4) 22 Drink bouzouki's drunk? (4)

Name

Address

Postcode

Sisters are able to enter our crossword competitions online at: www.observer.co.uk/puzzles or via email to: competitions@observer.co.uk Paperless entry encouraged; postal entries will still be accepted. Five randomly selected correct solutions will each win a £15 book token. To enter the Everyman prize draw, submit a correct solution either online or by post to: Everyman No. 4,164, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP Email entries must include the crossword name and number in the subject line as it appears in print (e.g. "Everyman No. 4,164"). Entries without the correct subject will not be accepted. UK residents 10+ only. Miss one entry per person. Closing date is Saturday following publication for online entries; postal entries must be postmarked no later than the Saturday following publication and must reach us within ten days of publication of the puzzle (i.e. by Wednesday week following publication). Winners announced Sunday two weeks after publication. For full T&Cs visit: https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/everyman/article/crossword-prize-draw

Sudoku classic

	1	3	4	6	2
5	4
		6	8		7
1			6		5
			7	3
9			1		8
7	6
		5	3		1
	5	7	8	4	6

Fill in the blank cells using the numbers 1 to 9.

Each number must appear just once in every row, column and 3x3 box.

SOLUTION No. 4,163

Everyman No. 4,162

Sam Barkley, Ballymena, County Antrim Patrick Joseph Brazzill, prize awaits; please confirm by email Andre ap Dewi, Bristol Dan Flint, Hampshire James Lawrenson, west Kent

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SUDOKU SOLUTION page 32

OBLIKS SOLUTIONS

MINDSET SOLUTIONS

Blue

Circle

Single line

31

Gemelo No. 43 - Plain

Name

Address

Post code

Across

1 Nonsense from preachers renouncing vermouth (4) 4 Old Indian nationalist movement has wised up (8) 11 Look inside bank for worm (7) 13 Something found under mal not about to be returned (5) 14 Ambiguous export allowed east of Indiana (10) 15 Sea surgeon in coarse seaweed (4) 16 What Superman's named cape that doesn't use better silk cloth (5) 17 Old me adopting new name for fruit (9, 2 words) 20 Urged to accept silver for second forecast (8) 22 Scientist torn about screening energy information (8) 26 Blast of pan-pipes featuring in short form of jazz (9) 28 Bravery of Charlotte and Victoria taking a look inside (5) 30 Devious excursion uncovered jelly (4) 31 Melting ice mostly dogging a building designer carving out arch (10) 32 Swift runs that would become walks if pastor were leading (5) 33 Unusual push to frame worn-out countenances (7) 34 Long story about the same disease (8) 35 Where scholars may read scripture in the morning paper (4)

Down

1 HR pro gave out false picture offering no relief (12) 2 Flier allowed to go outside of tavern (6) 3 History's cogent and full of meaning (8) 5 Time where preacher sat up and presented Lamentations (4) 6 Gene Kelly barely cracking highest note after doing a flip (6) 7 Drum kit almost breaking on account of drummer initially going the wrong way (5) 8 Keep short wading bird (5) 9 Commitments preceded by endless shots - they may help with cold feet (7) 10 Criminal and t sin - crime is arson (12) 12 River dam's last part taken out (6) 18 Reporter's notorious, abruptly U-turning to right (8) 19 Difficulties returning burst fizzy drink in Florida (7, 2 words) 21 Quickly win section of course (6) 23 Tropical plants displaced nutmeg (6) 24 Very able to move? (6) 25 Something in ink that is covering one Spice Girl or another all over (5) 27 Begin to split into opposing camps after politician quits (5) 29 Cap for French toll when cycling (4)

The Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended.

Gemelo No. 40 solution & notes

Gemelo uses a cryptic shorthand for answer explanations which can be viewed at: https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/gemelo/article/gemelo-key

Access: 1 (HAD NO 40)*, 6 VESSIC around 60 = VERBOSE, 10 FL around 10, 12 (NON 90) = GUN = WINDGUN, 14 (p) (KIDING) = 6V, 16 (bp) (DO) (term) = 18 (UNLESS UNENAS) = MASCI, (UNENAS), 19 (LASSES around H A, 24 T is SOLDITY = STOLIDITY,

26 GENTRY - GEN, 29 SI around (TO A), 30 "BITT EARNS", 31 THIS with EAST for US = FEASTS, 32 CR EDIT = CREDIT, 33-66, 34 CASSAU 5

Down: 1 Hi GH FR around EUE, 2 IS in RE = RISE, 3 MED H, 4 TA (Melody) E = TAME, 5 I AGD, 6 TRADES: CART (impsin) A, 7 STAR T = START, 8 SOLDIERS = -3 R (W IM S US in 1973, 13: 20 Y = XIV, 15 (ATOMATIC), P', 17: 25 AS 1973* around (Gondarche)), 20 (SODOM A, 21 IDUD L) = in CY = CLOUDY, 22 ATTANNU, 23 CENSUS around RE = CENSURES, 27 YOU BET = DU, 28 AR ES (R, S follow C)

Rules and requests

To enter the Gemelo price draw, submit a correct solution either online at: https://observer.co.uk/puzzles, via email to competitions@observer.co.uk or by post by: Gemelo No. 43, The Observer, 22 Berners Street, London W17 3LP

Email entries must include the crossword name and number in the subject line as it appears in print (e.g. "Gemelo No. 43"). Entries without the correct subject will not be accepted. Paperless entry encouraged. UK residents 13+ only. Max one entry per person. Closing date is Saturday following publication for online entries, postal entries must be postmarked no later than the Saturday following publication and must reach us within ten days of publication of the puzzle (i.e. by Wednesday week following publication). Three randomly selected correct solutions will each win a £25 book token. Gemelo No. 43 winners to be announced Sunday 30 August 2026.

For full terms and conditions visit: https://observer.co.uk/puzzles/overymon/article/crossword-price-draws

Gemelo No. 40 prizewinners

A Dickerson, Sheffield

H Jenkins, prize awaits; please confirm by email R Zara, Leamington Spa

Killer by Godefridus

Normal Sudoku rules apply, except the numbers in the cells contained within grey lines add up to the figures in the corner. No number can be repeated within each shape formed by the grey lines.

Cinema Connect answers

The Bouma identity (2002), The Devil's Advocate (1997) and Rogue One (2016) were all co-written by Tony Gilroy.

Chess by Jonathan Speelman

Diagram 1

A pawn down and facing the two bishops, White is losing – but why did 41 Rh77 expedite the loss? (See the end.)

The annual British Chess Championship has been taking place on the campus of Warwick University near Coventry; starting on Saturday 1 August and finishing today. This is the championship's third visit to Warwick following 1970 (when in my second British I was first equal with Jonathan Mestel in the under 16s) and 2015.

When I first played in the British itself in the early 1970s, it was an 11-round tournament and the fields were of 30-odd. They've gradually increased and this year there are over 100 including 11 grandmasters, starting with Luke McShane, Michael Adams and Sineyan Royal and 21Ms. Just over halfway through, the Ukrainian teenager Svyatoslav Bazakutsa and 2022 champion Harry Grieve led on 4.5/5 ahead of six on 4/5 including the three top seeds and the amazing 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan.

This year's Grand Chess Tour is moving towards its conclusion in its headquarters St Louis, Missouri, with a rapidplay and blitz followed by the annual Sinquefield Cup, with play starting tomorrow.

As ever, the rapidplay/blitz comprised three days of rapidplay counting double followed by a double round blitz tournament. After the three days of rapidplay, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa led on 6/9 (12/18 according to their scoring) ahead of Javokhir Sindarov 5.5.

World champion Gukesh Dommaraju competed in the rapidplay/blitzes in Warsaw and Zagreb but then withdrew from the tour to concentrate on his forthcoming world championship defence against Sindarov, which has now been confirmed in Geneva from 24 November to 15 December. Sindarov is also playing in the Sinquefield Cup which has a distinctly American feeling with four out of the 10 competitors on home turf.

There has been a furore after the all-female team She Plays to Win Lionesses was promoted to the top division of the ANCL. In lower divisions this was fine but when the ANCL was set up it was decided that in the top division teams of eight must have at least one player of each gender, precisely to foster the development of female players who are still in the minority. Generally this leads to teams with a 6-2 or 7-1 male/female split but some years ago Wood Green captain Brian Smith put out a team with seven women and a spouse Lithuanian grandmaster Viktorija Črnilyte's now long since ex-husband Alexei Shirov. There have been some calls to change the rule but this seems unlikely.

Diagram 2

Richard Bates is a strong international master against whom I have an equal score after several games but may be a little shaky in time trouble which he was approaching here. After using most of his time, he made a somewhat impractical choice. 30 Rxb77! Perfectly playable but 30 Rh6 would have been simpler when the most obvious line is 30...Rxb6 31 cxb6 Bxd5 32 exd5

Qxb6 33 d6 Qxd6 34 Qxa5 with a dead draw. 30 Rb6 Qd3 was interesting. However simply 31 Rxb7 Bxb7 32 c6 Bxb6 33 Ne3 Qxe4 34 Qxa5 is fine for White, and in fact 31 Rxc6 Rb1+ 32 Kg2 Qxe4+ 33 f3 Qe1 34 Rc8+ Kh7 35 Ne3 should be winning. 30...Qxb7 31 f3 Defending the e pawn but exposing the king 31 Qxa5? lost to Qb1+ 32 Kg2 Qxe4+. 31...a4 32 Nb6? And this already loses because Block's queen is able to infiltrate decisively. 32 Kf2f would have kept things under control. 32...Qx7 33 Qa3 Qa5 34 Nd5 Qe1+ 35 Kg2 Qe2+ 36 Kg1 Qe1+ 37 Kg2 Bb5! 38 Kh3 Or 38 h4 Bf1+ 39 Kg1 Be2+. 38... Bc7+ 39 g4 f7 39 Kg2 Qe2+ 40 Kg1 Bh3 decides. 39...Bb5 40 Ne3

Diagram 3

40...Qf2 And White resigned since after 41 Ng2 Bf1.

Diagram 4

A neat finish from the first round of the British. 21...Rc8! Gaining a crucial tempo. 22 Qa3 Bh3+ 23 Kxh3 Qxf3 24 Rd6 b4 25 Rxd1 Rxd6 Cf course not 25...bxa3?? 26 Rd8+ mating on the back rank, Now White resigned because after 26 Rxd6, Block safely takes the queen.

In Diagram 1, after 41 Rh77 Be1+ 42 Kg2 If 42 Nf2 Re2 43 Rh2 g5 44 Bc1 Rxc2 wins trivially or 42 Kh3 Bxe4 43 Jxe4 Rxe4 44 Bc1, and for instance simply g5 with two extra pawns. 42...Rxe4! White resigned. He could continue with 43 Jxe4 Bxe4+ 44 Ke1 Bxh7 45 Kxe1 Bxc2 but with three extra pawns the opposite bishop ending will be simple.

1 Awonder Liang (to play) v Wesley So

2 Richard Bates (to play) v Michael Adams

3 Richard Bates v Michael Adams (to play)

4 Shambavi Hariharan v Rishi Vijayakumar (to play)

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09.08.26

Puzzles

SLOOK! SOLUTIONS page 30-32

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48
49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56
57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64
65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72
73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32
33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48

Lexipedia Quiz: on maths by Joshua Blackburn

1. How many sides does a bargaon have?

• A) Five
• B) Seven
• C) Nine
• D) Eleven

2. Which number is largest?

• A) Billion
• B) Octillion
• C) Vigintillion
• D) Centillion

3. Which term does not derive from Arabic?

• A) Algebra
• B) Algorithm
• C) Axis
• D) Average

4. "Fraction" derives from Latin frangere, meaning what?

• A) To add
• B) To subtract
• C) To multiply
• D) To break

5. What is a lemniscate better known as?

• A) Infinity symbol
• B) Equals sign
• C) Asterisk
• D) Pound sign

6. Eleven comes from a Germanic root meaning what?

• A) One left
• B) Elve's one
• C) Two lines
• D) Greater than 10 by one

Lucky dip bonus question

7. What is the origin of the word "bankrupt"?

• A) Old French for "burst bank"
• B) Old Italian for "broken bench"
• C) Old German for "fractured business"
• D) Old English for "rotten"

A word about...

Linguistic nonsense

Visiting the MC Escher exhibition at Somerset House in central London left my mind slightly scrambled, which got me thinking about the weird corners of language where sense and nonsense appear to merge. "Police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police police

I'm a sucker for this kind of linguistic tombooery, where fish fish fish fish fish (ie the fish caught by fish-catching fish also catch fish). Speaking of fish, the American writer and mathematician Martin Gardner deserves kudos for his ruminations on the correct punctuation of a fish and chip shop sign, which I quote unapologetically in full: "Wouldn't the sentence I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign have been clearer if quotation marks had been placed

before Fish, and between Fish and and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

before Fish, and between Fish and and, and and and And, and And and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

Joshua Blackburn is the author of The Language-Lower's Lexipedia (Bloomsbury, £14.99). Order for £13.49 from observershop.co.uk. Delivery charges may apply

Goldilocks SOLUTION No. 36

		S	E	R	E	N	E
		S	T	R	U	D	E
	A	P	E	R	T	U	R
	F	L	A	W	S	C	D
	E	I	N	S	W	A	I
	L	A	G	O	A	T	E
	I	S	L	A	N	D	E
	N	E	E	D	L	E	G
	E	S	S	A	Y	S

Scan to subscribe to The Puzzle Edit - the weekly newsletter from puzzles editor Caitlin O'Kane

Goldilocks crossword No. 37

Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

Goldilocks clues exclude enumerations; in a mid-sized crossword, they only make an already compact puzzle more straightforward. The enjoyment lies in lateral thinking, grid observations, and the distinctly modern British vernacular. Play the Goldilocks archive online by subscribing at observer.co.uk

Across

• 1 Private transport for a VIP
• 4 "Hold on a ..."
• 7 Cross little dog?
• 9 £1000, in rhyming slang
• 10 "My pronouns ..."
• 11 Broadcaster whose offices host Tiny Desk Concerts
• 12 Bhindi masala ingredient
• 14 TALK LIKE THIS
• 17 Big name in pens and razors
• 19 Terrace at Anfield
• 20 What rugby matches very rarely end up being
• 23 Modern "Goodness gracious!"
• 24 The point of writing?
• 25 Tesla Model Y, BMW iX3, etc.

Down

1 Part of a round in which you drop a shot?

• 2 Type of chess rating
• 3 "Goodbye", to a texter
• 4 Items for a houseguest
• 5 A long, long time
• 6 The fish in many servings of fish and chips
• 7 Gary and Howard's bandmate in Take That

• 8 Classic game for kids on a long car journey

• 9 Steamed bun in Chinese cuisine

• 13 Like a good chocolate mousse
• 15 End of a winning streak
• 16 Precursors to CDs
• 18 Hand over
• 20 Luke, to Darth Vader
• 21 Letter between phi and psi
• 22 Where Hyacinth Bucket would never admit going

Big Apple Sudoku by Godefridus

Every row, column, and 3-1 has been used to create the digits 1-5, plus an extra twist - the four highlighted 3-3 blue squares together form an additional set of boxes, which meet also include 1-9 with no reports

4. (1) To break "fracture", from Latin via French, derives from the word frangere, meaning to break.
5. (2) Inability symbol: A lemniscate, a figure of eight symbols on its side (i.e., was first used to represent infinity by the mathematical data.)
6. (3) The same comes from Latin litmus, meaning alternate with a letter.
7. (4) One left, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right, one right

Quiz answers 1. (1) Seems a bargaon has seven sides, from Greek bagel, meaning seven. A bargaon has four sides, a bargaon has nine sides, and a bargaon has 11 sides. 2. (2) Condition: Originally, a condition was not followed by 600 zeros, but today it is followed by 300 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50 zeros, so the UK, a repetition is not followed by 50

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26 33

Staying in

Audio

American fictions

Two Radio 4 dramas imagine the shadow world of conspiracy and espionage after the assassination of JFK – and foretell the mess of today

Xavier Greenwood

Central Intelligence

BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds

Libra

BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds

The New York Times once delighted in reporting that Richard Helms, director of the CIA between 1966 and 1973, liked to relax by reading spy stories to his wife. One wonders what the man who kept the secrets would

have made of BBC Radio 4's Central Intelligence, which dramatises the conniptions of postwar America through the lens of his agency.

Series three takes listeners from the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963 to the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. During this turbulent period, Lyndon B Johnson is president, Helms gets a major promotion, and the CIA is at it again: meddling in elections in Latin America, snooping on anti-war activists at home, and going to extreme lengths to move the dial in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union is up to no good and the spectre of Cuba appears to be everywhere.

The conceit of Central Intelligence is that the events are seen through the eyes of Eloise Page, a real-life spy played by Kim Cattrall. The catch is that she is a largely silent witness, which adds to the sense that this is the story of marauding men self-

Kelsey Grammer as Lyndon B Johnson and Kim Cattrall as real-life spy Eloise Page in Central Intelligence.

assured to a fault in their view of right and wrong.

Dramatising this period of history with a group of A-list actors is a mixed blessing. While Kelsey Grammer shines as Johnson, Johnny Flynn is a strange pick as Helms. Flynn's folksy voice is too familiar, making it sound as if the CIA chief was shipped off to a British boarding school. (Actually, he was educated in Switzerland.) The producers also put faith in the listener being interested in what largely amounts to a series of conversations in a series of rooms.

As it turns out, I am, Fear, paranoia, hubris and adventurism in America? The mess of today is

foretold by tetchy spooks and a short-sighted president. Central Intelligence needn't hold our hands by pointing towards contemporary parallels at the start of each episode. They are as clear as mud. What a relief, as well, to get some history that is not postsplained by overzealous hosts sexing up Wikipedia entries. Bring on Nixon. By way of preparatory listening, Libra, the BBC's adaptation of Don DeLillo's 1988 novel, starts in the same place as Central Intelligence with the assassination of JFK. It then rewinds to explain how Lee Harvey Oswald came to carry it out. As the story blends historical fact with speculation, you have to figure out

what is true and what is false. Even so, it's a trip. Oswald is a delusional bore, staring at books, muttering names of communists, shooting himself in the elbow, and available to whatever nation will have him. The Soviets see limited use in Oswald, but the braggart attracts the attention of the CIA. Two operatives, or so the story imagines, coax him into assassinating JFK in the hope that Cuba will be held responsible. Libra is a provocative novel for BBC Radio 4 to adapt for its Story of America series, and an interesting companion piece both to Central Intelligence and to the US under Donald Trump.

JFK is the subject of the most abiding conspiracy theory in the country, which is governed by the conspiracist-in-chief. Trump has previously suggested that he thinks Oswald might have received help with the assassination. Whether or not the show reflects the president's view of the world, above all, Libra portends the everyday violence that has seeped into the bones of America. Nihilism has never been more topical.

Miranda Sawyer is away

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observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Television

By Craig McLean, Kay Ribeiro and Stephen Armstrong

Films by Wendy Ide

The week's highlights

Today

Pick of the Day

Inside Iran: War & Revolution

ITV1, 10.15pm

A revelatory film by life-risking Iranian journalists, documenting seven months that changed the world. Via mobile phone footage and first-person interviews, it captures a nation as it goes from regime-threatening uprising to being threatened with civilisational end times by Trump. One contributor viscerally sums up the feelings of anti-Islamic Republic citizens who also detest those bombing their country: "It feels like you're inside with your child's killer, and a pack of wolves is outside." CMc

Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey Channel 4, 8pm

Richard E Grant continues to seduce with his velvety tones and enthusiasm in episode two, as his homage to Homer's "riveting yarn" The Odyssey takes him to Sicily. There, he makes a pilgrimage to Mount Etna, believed to be the site of the Olysses-Cyclops face-off, and dines with a duchess in her Palermo palazzo because... why not? KR

Lady Antonia Fraser Remembers... The Birthday Party BBC Four, 10pm

It was at the 1975 production of his play The Birthday Party that Harold Pinter met his future wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, causing a scandal in London high society. Fraser reflects on their first encounter and her fondness for the BBC's acclaimed 1987 adaptation of the play, showing at 10.10pm, in which Pinter plays the smooth-talking Goldberg. KR

Film

Lady Macbeth

(William Oldroyd, 2016)

BBC Two, 11.40pm

No nice polite costume drama, this: the film that launched the career of the then 20-year-old Florence Pugh. She is phenomenal in the central role of Katherine, a young bride who has been sold into a loveless marriage to a dour, much-older man in 18th-century rural England. An affair with a truculent farm worker (played by Cosmo Jarvis) unleashes violence and destructive forces within Katherine. Pugh is hard-eyed and magnetic: her character's retribution is savage, uncompromising and relentless. William Oldroyd's stylish directorial debut was written by Normal People screenwriter Alice Birch, elegantly adapted from Nikolai Leskov's 1865 Russia-set novel, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. WI

Monday

Pick of the Day

House of the Dragon

Sky Atlantic, 9pm

This third series has certainly been an improvement on the ponderous, politicking second. It's been one battle after another, at sea, in the sky, among fields and within various boudoirs. And while it hasn't cohered as powerfully as prime Game of Thrones, it has built to this high-stakes finale. Rhaenyra is (sexually) fired up, Aemond's been poisoned by mum Alicent, Aegon has his mojo (and dragon) back, and Ormund has finally got the finger out (by severing Corlys's). Dracarys! CMc

European Athletics Championships

BBC One, 8pm

While five coverage of the recent Commonwealth Games could only be enjoyed by TNT and HBO Max subscribers, everyone with a TV licence can enjoy the next seven days of sport. Athletes from 50 nations compete for glory at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, including Dina Asher-Smith, who pulled out of the Commonwealth Games but competes in tonight's 100m. KR

Warren's Vortex

Sky Comedy, 10.10pm

A new adventure-of-the-week series from the New Zealand comedy gang behind Wellington Parunormal. Lucy, sneakily vaping in the garden shed, is sucked into the secret interdimensional portal that her dad Warren has been using to dispose of garden waste. Warren follows. Their first trip: a near-future ruled by rogue robot fridges. CMc

Film

All That Heaven Allows

(Douglas Sirk, 1955)

Film4, 3.15pm

Like all romantic melodramas by Douglas Sirk, this big, sweeping May-December romance teeters on the brink of soapiness. But the tale of a taboo love between Jane Wyman's upper-class widow and a much younger man, a no-nonsense gardener played by a dashing Rock Hudson, is a sumptuous feast of lush colours and throbbing, overwrought emotions. To make a life with her new love, Wyman's character must run the gauntlet of the disapproval of her college-age children and the sniping gossip of her circle of society chums – it's enough to make her question whether there's a future with her man in his rough-hewn log cabin. Todd Haynes's Far from Heaven was directly inspired by this film. WI

Tuesday

Pick of the Day

Joe & David's Magical

Sitcom Tour UKGold, 9pm

Comedian best mates Joe Wilkinson and David Earl continue their freewheeling sitcom tour with Fawlty Towers. Super fan David geeks out visiting the studio and outdoor locations where scenes were filmed and laps up insights from a former Gleneagles hotel employee whose notoriously rude manager inspired the creation of hostile hotelier Basil Fawlty. The cherry on the cake (or apple in the Waldorf salad) A video call with the show's co-creator and star, John Cleese. KR

Mourinho

Netflix

"I'm not nice. I [say that] in a pride way." "The special one is some special shit, guys in England [said]." These and other epigrammatic pearls from Portuguese baller coach José Mourinho, in a three-part portrait that hits the familiar sports-biopic beats but is no less entertaining. First up: his sensational arrival at Chelsea. CMc

Savage Mountain

Sky Documentaries, 9pm

In 2023, Kristin Harila set out to beat the record for scaling all 14 of the world's peaks that stand over 8,000m above sea level. She succeeded, but was vilified when an injured Sherpa from another K2 expedition died after mountaineers, including Harila, climbed past him. This film explores her soaring highs, plunging lows and high-altitude ethics. CMc

Film

Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up

(Peter Broungardt, 2024)

Sky Cinema Premiere, 3.10pm

The first fully animated feature film to emerge from the Looney Tunes stable, The Day the Earth Blew Up is a suitably anarchic and gloriously inventive riot of silliness. The world is in grave peril, with a fiery comet on a collision course. And, to complicate matters, there's a devious alien overlord who plans to enslave humanity by turning everyone into compliant zombies. Our only hope for survival? Best friends and roommates Porky Pig and Duffy Duck. Faced with eviction, the socially anxious pig and the deranged, mallet-wielding duck take a job at a bubble-gum factory (which is, coincidentally, instrumental in the zombie plot). Chaos ensues. WI

Wednesday

Pick of the Day

Murder Trial: Death of a Dog

Walker BBC Two, 9pm

Yet another televised account of another gruesome criminal case: the recent trial in Glasgow of retired gamekeeper David Campbell, accused of the premeditated shotgun murder of Brian Low, his former colleague on an Aberfeldy shooting estate. But this two-parter compels, in part due to what the Perthshire native appreciates as the careful, ponderous, unshown nature of the country folk on the stand. Key evidence: CCTV footage of a horse being spooked. Low key, high stakes. CMc

Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story Channel 4, 9pm

More neighbourhood-embedded Russian spooks (see also Sky's The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door). The "glamorous redhead" known to her Moscow handlers as Anna Kushchenko finagled a British passport then, having relocated to New York, became a real estate entrepreneur – until her arrest by the FBI revealed a network of sleeper agents. CMc

MotD: Uefa Super Cup Highlights

BBC One, 10.40pm

The Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria, is the venue for this season-bridging showdown between Paris Saint-Germain (Arsenal-denying winners of the 2025/6 Champions League) and Aston Villa (Europa League champs). PSG are the holders and the favourites, which could reduce Villa's most famous fan to a prince of walls. CMc

Film

Holy Cow

(Louise Courvoisier, 2024)

Film4, 1.50am

A surprise smash hit at the French box office, this tale of bereavement, adolescent hormones and competitive cheese-making is a refreshingly earthy charmer of a picture. The debut film from director Louise Courvoisier, who grew up in the Jura region of France where the story unfolds, this is such vivid and authentic film-making that you can practically taste it. Acting newcomer Clément Faveau is a revelation as Totone, a wild teenager who must take on the responsibility of caring for his kid sister following the death of their father. His plan to save the family smallholding? Make a world-class comic cheese and win the generous prize money. WI

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35

Thursday

Pick of the Day

My Brilliant Career

Netflix

Based on Miles Franklin's 1901 novel, an Australian classic, this six-partner stars Philippa Northeast (The Newsreader) as the proto-feminist country girl and aspiring writer taken in by her snouty grandma (Anna Chancellor), Christopher Chung (Slow Horses) is the gentleman-farmer with whom she hate-flirts. "We're not doing a Bridgerton [with] colour-blind casting," Chung – whose dad is Malaysian – told me. "Everything is grounded in truth and historical context." Ravishing. CMc

The Big Deal With Steph McGovern

BBC Two, 9pm

The six-part reality-show competition gives strong vibes of The Apprentice, as seven pairs of "art curious" contestants are plunged into the contemporary art world in a bid to turn them into dealers. In episode one, their attempts to sell graduates' works at auction involves some cringey Del Boy-style negotiation and lots of flannel. KR

A House Through Time

BBC Two, 9pm

David Olasoga delves into the fascinating history of 20 and 22 Calton Hill, Edinburgh. Tales of hardship and bravery are baked into the walls of the 18th-century residence, home to characters including the Rev Fitzsimmons, who helped French PoWs escape Edinburgh Castle, rags-to-riches royal sculptor John Steell Jr, and brothel-owner Catherine Johnston. KR

Film

Inside Llewyn Davis

(Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2013)

BBC Four, 10pm

Greenwich Village. The early 1960s. The folk scene is in full swing. Every sweaty basement dive bar throngs with pale young men and women brandishing guitars; there's a busking troubadour on every street corner. This is the scene that will soon launch Bob Dylan into the world. But that's another story for another film. The Coen brothers' moodily evocative dramedy focuses instead on an also-ran. Llewyn Davis – played by a scowling Oscar Isaac, as a man entirely composed of sharp angles and spikes – is a brooding loser who manages to sabotage his own musical career at every turn. Carey Mulligan is terrific in a feisty supporting role. WI

Friday

Pick of the Day

He Had It Coming

BBC Three, 11.15pm

It's a Sin's Lydia West stars in this darkly amusing Aussie whodunnin exploring gender politics through the lens of fractious uni students. West is dorky British scholarship student Elise, who befriends influencer Barbara (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) after bonding over toxic male behaviour. Fuelled by booze and female outrage, they vandalise the statue of the uni's male founder, only for the star athlete's corpse to be found by it the next morning. Cue major hangxiety. KR

Beethoven's Seventh at the Proms

BBC Four, 7pm

After his cameo at the World Cup Final half-time show, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra in its first Proms appearance for more than two decades. Beethoven's powerful Seventh Symphony is perfectly paired with Gabriela Ortiz's politically charged ballet score, Revolución diamantina. KR

Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt

Sky One, 9pm

The standup veteran filmed – in forgiving black and white – at his tour's end four months ago, so we still sense the roar of the concealer and the smell of the crowd. Here he final ruminations on the knob gag's ageless magic and the withering of his audience: "Harold Shipman, he chewed a hole in my ticket sales." CMc

Film

On Falling

(Laura Carreira, 2024)

BBC Two, 11.05pm

This impressive first feature from Portuguese-born, Scotland-based film-maker Laura Carreira puts a human face on the cost of convenience. Aurora, soulfully and sensitively played by Joana Santos, works in a huge Scottish stock warehouse. It's a precarious, hand-to-mouth existence – Aurora can barely afford food once she has paid her rent – and she's not just financially impoverished. Isolated and painfully lonely, she craves connections. Produced by Ken Loach's company Sixteen Films, the film shares an empathic social realist approach with films such as Loach's indictment of the gig economy, Sorry We Missed You. It's powerful stuff: a heartbreaking and quietly furious portrait of dehumanised workers. WI

Saturday

Pick of the Day

Kabul

BBC Four, 9pm & 9.50pm

This six-part French/Italian/German co-production is set around the August 2021 withdrawal of US and Nato forces from Afghanistan. With Taliban encircling the capital, Afghans who have helped the westerners plead for exit visas. Meanwhile, the Nazary family, fearing retaliation – because the women had jobs – flee. "I guarantee you one thing," says an Italian embassy staffer. "History will judge us for selling out this country at the expense of women." A vital, shaming watch. CMc

Celebrating Graceland at the Proms

BBC Two, 7.30pm

Forty years ago, Paul Simon released Graceland, his magnificent, apartheid boycott-defying – and activist-enraging – seventh solo album, inspired by the music of South Africa. Alas, no rhymin' Simon at this concert. But original collaborators Ladysmith Black Mambazo bring the authenticity, abetted by the Nu Civilisation Orchestra. We can call them pals. CMc

Concorde Crash: Days That Shocked the World

Channel 4, 10pm For 25 years, Concorde was synonymous with luxury, supersonic travel, allowing passengers to cross the Atlantic in just three hours. Then, on 25 July 2000, tragedy struck when Flight 4590, departing Paris for New York, caught fire on takeoff, killing all 109 passengers and four people on the ground. Here, investigators offer the shocking but simple explanation. KR

Film

Monos

(Alejandro Landes, 2019)

Channel 4, 1am

High on a mountain in an unspecified South American country, a heavily armed teen militia takes orders from an unseen authority. Their main responsibilities: guarding a requisitioned dairy cow and a hostage – a female engineer. The long, heady days are endless and the kids fill the time with bizarre rituals and power games. Combine all this with teenage hormones, psychedelic mushrooms and semi-automatic weapons and you have a recipe for disaster, evoked with vivid and disorienting intensity by the striking cinematography and Mica Levi's grinding, feral score. Alejandro Landes's savage, surreal tale feels like Lord of the Flies filtered through the heightened tropical madness of Joseph Conrad. WI

TV streaming

Picks of the Week

This week's streaming is all corrupt governments, high body counts and relentless investigators. Lee Child's Jack Reacher is the acceptable face of pulp-thriller fiction – Malcolm Gladwell, Haruki Murakami and Margaret Drabble are all fans of the half-Rimbaud, half-Rambo action hero. But, as Drabble put it, the action is just half of Reacher's charm – "what landscapes, what motorways and motels, what mythic dimensions", she wrote. Amazon's Reacher (Prime Video, Wednesday) struggles to show this side of Reacher, leaning into the big man's fists and away from the black coffee and diners with pie. As season four opens, director Sam Hill teases viewers, with Alan Ritchson's Reacher content to watch the world go by in Philly. Of course, this can't last. Based on the fast-paced and vicious novel Gone Tomorrow, this is a fast-paced, albeit less vicious, adaptation. Reacher tries to stop a suicide bomber, who turns out to be just a suicide. But as the number of interested parties – including the police, the feds, the CIA and various knife-wielding thugs – demanding a flash drive they believe the woman gave Reacher before she died begin to pile up, it becomes clear there's more than just a suicide case to solve. Reacher blunders through with two tagalong cops, delivering just enough pathos and comedy to balance Ritchson's sub-Terminator vibe. Hill may not be bold enough to linger on coffee and pie, but he can handle grisly murders and plenty of the old ultraviolet.

Proving that you don't have to bulk up to take down corruption, Las Azules (Women in Blue) (Apple TV, Wednesday) returns for a second season after a complicated debut. Set in Mexico in 1971, it imagines an all-female police unit assembled as a PR stunt but determined to prove their worth. Having nailed a serial killer in season one, glamorous mother Maria has been promoted, leading her activist sister Valentina, socially uncomfortable Angeles and optimist Gabina into a politically charged cold case involving the Tlatelolco massacre, where US-backed soldiers gunned down student protesters in 1968.

The case suddenly gets hot as a killer seeks revenge on those responsible. The show's stunning mid-century aesthetic helps lift it above savagery. SA

Alan Ritchson returns as Jack Reacher. Prime

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36 observer.co.uk 09.08.26

Today's television

Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey, Channel 4, 8pm The actor continues his journey with a trip to the island of Sicily

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.0 News (T) 10.0 Prayer and Reflection (T) (R) 10.30 Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales (T) (R) 11.30 Money for Nothing (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) 1.15 Songs of Praise (T) 1.50 1.50 Ruby Gilman, Teenage Kraken (2023) (T) 3.15 Wallace & Gromit, A Grand Day Out (T) (R) 3.35 The Mating Game (T) (R) 4.35 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 5.35 News (T) 6.0 Celebrity Escape to the Country (T) (R) 7.0 Countryfile (T)	6.20 A to Z of TV Gardening (T) (R) 7.05 Glorious Gardens from Above (T) (R) 7.50 Countryfile (T) 8.50 Best of Weatherman Walking (T) 9.20 Boochgrove Garden (T) (R) 9.50 Saturday Kitchen (T) (R) 11.20 Indian Food Made Easy (T) (R) 12.20 12.20 The Man Who Knew: Not Much (T) 2.15 Cricket: The Hundred (T) London Spirit Women v Birmingham Phoenix (R) 4.35 Women & 6.0 Cricket: The Hundred (T) London Spirit Men v Birmingham Phoenix (R) Men (Start-time 6.0pm).	6.0 James Martin's American Adventure (T) (R) 7.0 James Martin's Saturday Morning (T) (R) 9.25 News (T) 9.30 Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh (T) (R) 11.25 Fern Britton: Inside the Vets (T) 12.25 Tom Kerridge Cooks Italy (T) (R) 12.55 News (T) 1.05 Force of Nature (R) 2.05 2.05 The Spy Who Loved Me (T) 4.30 The Chase Around the World (R) 5.35 News (T) 6.0 Force of Nature (T) 7.0 Emmerdale (T) 7.30 Coronation Street (T)	6.20 Cheers (T) (R) 7.15 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 8.30 The Simpsons (T) (R) 10.0 Sunday Brunch (T) 1.0 Jamie Cooks the Mediterranean (T) (R) 2.0 Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids (T) (R) 3.05 Worst House on the Street (T) (R) 4.05 Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds (T) (R) 4.40 4.40 Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (Bill Duke, 1993) (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T) Comedy (T)	6.0 Mikshakel 9.05 Entertainment News on 5 (T) 9.10 9.10 Kills Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023) (T) Premiere: 11.0 Happy Campers: The Caravan Park (T) (R) 12.0 Cruising with Susan Calman (T) (R) 1.0 Cruising with Susan Calman (T) (R) 2.0 Jane McDonald in Nashville (T) (R) 4.0 Live: UK's Strongest Man 2026: The Final (T) From Braehead Arena: 6.55 News (T) 7.0 The 1970s Diet: Could It Work For You? (T) (R) Jock Gibson joins a disco-inspired dance class.	7.0 Eisteddfod 2026 with Huw Stephens (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T) Huw (T)
8.0 Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) Floria Bruce presents the show from Clissold Park in the London borough of Hackney.	9.30 Live at the Apollo (T) (R) Leading performers on the standup circuit share their observations on life in this show recorded before a packed house at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Tonight's show features City's AB and Neil Delamere, hosted by Lou Sanders.	8.0 Van Der Valk (T) Piet and the team are called in when an environmental campaigner is murdered on the eve of a global conference. Several potential suspects are caught on CCTV, including a famous singer, Drama, starring Marc Warren.	8.0 Richard E Grant's Very Modern Odyssey (T) The actor arrives on Sicily, said to be the home of Cyclops, where he cooks with a duchess in Palermo.	8.0 Dogs Belvying (Very) Badly (T) (R) Goethe Hall travels to Essex to help bring peace to a dog-friendly pub.	8.0 NYO at the Proms (T) The National Youth Orchestra in Berlioz's Symphonie (2023).
9.0 The Rapture (T) A new drawing from Bethany leads Gabs to the old ruins. Last in the drama series starring Ruth Madeley.	10.0 10.0 Inside Llewyn Davis	10.0 News (T) Weather	10.0 Celebrity Gogglebox (T) (R) 11.0 11.0 How to Have Sex (T) 12.50 12.50 Old (A Night Shyamalan, 2021) (T) 2.35 Ramsay's Hotel Hell (T) (R) 3.25 Couples Come Dine with Me (T) (R)	9.0 Inside the Four Seasons: Park Lane (T) Documentary: Concierge manager Adam has to juggle two major celebrations.	9.40 The Brontës Lived Here: Writers' Houses (T) Margaret Drabble visits Haworth Parsonage and the Yorkshire moors, home of literary family the Brontës.
10.0 News (T) 10.25 Regional News (T) Weather	11.40 11.40 Lady Macbeth (2016)	10.15 Inside the Langham: Britain's First Grand Hotel	10.0 When Package Holidays Go	10.0 10.0 When Package Holidays Go	10.0 Lady Antonia Fraser Remembers (T) The Birthday Party (T) 11.55 Arena: Harold Pinter – Part 1: The Room (T) 12.55 Arena: Harold Pinter – Part 2: Celebration (T)
10.30 10.30 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) (T) 12.10 Who Do You Think You Are? (T) (R) 1.10 Weather for the Week (T) 1.15 News (T)	1.05 Sign Zone: Who Do You Think You Are? (T) (R) 2.05 Sign Zone: Ann Droid (T) (R) 2.35 The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke (T)	12.0 Shop on TV 3.0 Tenor in the Skies (T) (R)	12.50 12.50 How to Have Sex (T) 12.50 Old (A Night Shyamalan, 2021) (T) 2.35 Ramsay's Hotel Hell (T) (R) 3.25 Couples Come Dine with Me (T) (R)	11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 1	11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 11.0 1

Monday 10

European Athletics Championships, BBC One, 10.30am Jeanette Kwakye presents coverage from day one at the Alexander Stadium

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) Coverage of the opening session on day one (T) 1.15 News (T) 1.40 Regional News (T) 1.50 News (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 News (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)	6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 7.15 Money for Nothing (T) 8.0 The Repair Shop (T) 9.0 News	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 News (T) 1.55 Local News (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) Ben Shephard hosts the arcade-themed quiz (T) 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) 6.0 Quiz show, hosted by Bradley Walsh (T) 6.0 Local News (T) 7.30 Weather (T) 7.30 Fletcher's Family Farm (T) (R) 8.0 The Fletcher's Focus on diversification and Ruby the cow turns a corner.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) Comedy (T) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 6.0 Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz encounter a coin-op empire (T) 7.0 News (T)	6.0 Mikshakel 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Alwright (T) 2.20 12.20 My Fatal Memory (Egg Gaston, 2022) (T) 1.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 6.0 Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz encounter a coin-op empire (T) 7.0 News (T)	7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) Tim Dunn explores disused Tube station Down Street.
8.0 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) Further coverage of the evening session on day one from Alexander Stadium, including the women's 100m final. With analysis from Jessica Ennis-Hill and Jenny Meadows.	8.0 Only Connect (T) The Doctor Features take on the Colonial Geese.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) A village's life is turned upside down.	8.0 Martin and Roman's Irish Road Trip (T) New series. Martin and Roman Kemp explore the legends and history of Ireland.	8.0 Street Cops: Catching the Yoke (T) A drive aided over for speeding gets more than he languend for.	8.0 The Art of Spain (T) This edition looks at the golden age of Spanish painting.
10.0 News (T) 10.30 Regional News (T) Weather	8.30 University Challenge (T) Quiz Magdalen College, Oxford takes on Warwick.	8.30 Living at the Palace (T) Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace (T) Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell help foundings Michael and Christine.	9.0 Celebrity Hunted (T) An escape plot is hatched in Brighton. Two of the celebs tap into a military network for Intel and support.	9.0 Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law (T) Documentary following Transport for London investigators as they hunt for a suspected prolific fare evader.	9.0 Mastermind (T) The first heat of the 1977 run of the classic quiz show.
10.40 10.40 Bridget Jones's Baby (Sharon Maguire, 2016) (T) Romantic comedy sequel.	9.0 Evolution (T) Chris Packham reveals why the horse became so fast. Last in the series.	10.0 News (T) Weather	10.0 Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives (T) Reality series.	10.0 Police Interceptors: Taking Down the Shoplifting Gangs (T) (R) Documentary.	9.30 Call My Bluff (T) With contestants Nanette Newman, Ioannis Langley and Russell Harty.
12.35 Weather for the Week Ahead (T) 12.40 News (T)	10.0 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (T) (R) 10.30 Newsnight (T) 11.05 11.05 Shaircase (T) (R) 12.45 Sign Zone: Countryfile (T) (R) 1.35 Sign Zone: Bergerac (T) (R)	10.45 Cold Case Forensics: A Death on the Nile (T) (R) 11.45 Love & Death (T) (R) 12.35 Shop on TV 3.0 The Staircase (T) (R) 4.10 Unwind with TV (T)	11.05 Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich (T) (R) 12.05 Secrets of the Celebrity Sex Tapes (T) 12.55 Ramsay's Hotel Hell (T)	11.05 Traffic Cops (T) (R) 12.05 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) 1.0 Cruise TV (T) 2.0 Entertainment News (T)	10.0 The Sky at Night (T) 10.30 The Golden Age of Spanish Painting: Omnibus (T) 11.20 One Hundred Great Paintings (T) 11.35 Britain's Lost Waterlands

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Tuesday 11

Mourinho, Netflix Charting the rise of the star football manager

BBC One	BBC Two	ITVI	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) 1.15 News (T) 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 News (T) Weather 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 News (T) Weather 6.30 Regional News (T) Weather 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)	11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Farmers' Country Showdown (T) (R) 3.30 Spy in the Ocean (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Rigid It (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 European Athletics Championships (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 News (T) Weather 1.55 Local News (T) Weather 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) Quiz show hosted by Ben Shephard 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh 6.0 Local News (T) Weather 6.30 News (T) Weather 7.30 Inside the Langham: Britain's First Grand Hotel (T) The managing director oversees progress on the Langham Venice.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) Chris and Jalyon convert a narrow space into a luxurious bathroom 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 7.0 News (T) Headlines.	6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20THE Danger Rocks the Cattle (Roxanne Boisvert, 2022) (T) Thriller starring Devin Cecchetto 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 News (T) 6.0 Corfu Jewel of the Med (T) (R) 6.0 Rachael Lumley narrates a profile of Corfu 6.55 News (T) 7.0 The Yorkshire Veh At Home with the Greens (T) (R) 7.0 Jean takes an ageing cat in for a check-up 7.55 News (T)	7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) The Ffestiniog railway in Wales.
8.0 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) Further coverage of the evening session on day two from Alexander Stadium, including the men's 100m final, the men's Rigid jump and women's 100m hurdles finals.	8.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) The sewers tackle the wide world of sport, including swimming shorts.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) Billy and Dawn plan their escape.	8.0 Dover 24/7: Britain's Busiest Port (T) Staff mark the port's role in two world wars with a remembrance service. Last in the series.	8.0 Inside Longleat (T) Cameras follow a bit conservation team and a group of moth enthusiasts.	8.30 Keeping Up Appearances (T) Hyacinth tries to rescue Richard from social obscurity with a plan to turn him into an executive.
10.0 News (T)10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40THE The Boys in the Boat (George Clooney, 2023) (T) Drama with Joel Edgerton 12.35 Weather for the Week Ahead (T) 12.40 News (T)	9.0 Bloody Marry: Lucy Worsley Investigates (T) (R) A look back at whether England's first crowned queen deserves her reputation. Last in the series.	9.0 Cold Case Forensics: In the Blood (T) Angela Gallop reveals how clues in blood helped solve two crimes. Last in the series.	9.0 Celebrity Hunted (T) Two of the stars find themselves surrounded at a country hotel, with others also in the hunters' sights.	9.0 The Romans with Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman (T) The presenter and historian look back at Emperor Hadnich's visit to Roman Britain in 122 AD.	9.0 Ardal O'Hanlon: Tomb Raider (T) The actor an comedian explores major archaeological finds in Ireland.
10.0 News (T)10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40THE The Boys in the Boat (George Clooney, 2023) (T) Drama with Joel Edgerton 12.35 Weather for the Week Ahead (T) 12.40 News (T)	10.0 Live at the Apollo (T) (R) With Emmanuel Sonubi, Troy Hawke and Olga Koch 10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather 11.05 The Vampire Lestat: Interview with the Vampire (T) Lestat is triggered.	10.0 News (T) Weather 10.30 Local News (T) Weather 10.45THE The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 1977) (T) 12.55 Shop on TV 3.0 The Summit (T) (R) 3.50 Unwind with ITV (T)	10.0 Gogglebee (T) (R) 11.05 Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives (T) (R) Trewley clashes with her sisters 12.05 Naked Attraction (T) (R) 1.0 Ransky's Hotel Hell (T) (R) Gordon investigates.	10.30 The Bomb on the Boat: The Murder of Lord Mountbatten (T) (R) 12.05 Serial Killer Wives (T) (R) 1.0 Cruise TV (T) (R) 2.0 Entertainment News on 5 (T) (R) Developments.	10.0 Kamikaze: An Untold History (T) Documentary.
					11.30 The Sky at Night (T) 12.0 Horizon: The Without Weather in the Universe (T) 1.0 Beautiful Equations (T) Elegance in maths.

Wednesday 12

MotD: Uefa Super Cup Highlights, BBC One, 10.40pm Désiré Doué and Paris Saint-Germain take on Aston Villa

BBC One	BBC Two	ITVI	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) 1.15 News (T) Weather 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 News (T) Weather 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 News (T) Weather 6.30 Regional News (T) Weather 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)	6.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Farmers' Country Showdown (T) (R) 3.30 Spy in the Ocean (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Rigid It (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 European Athletics Championships (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T)10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 News (T) Weather 1.55 Local News (T) Weather 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Alan, Kathy, Genevieve and Andy take part 6.0 Local News (T) Weather 6.30 News (T) Weather 7.0 Live Pre-Season Football (T) Manchester United v Leeds United (kick-off 7.30pm). Hugh Woozencroft hosts coverage of the friendly at Croke Park in Dublin.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 7.0 Frank Fritz spots a Harley-Davidson 'knucklehead'. 7.0 News (T) The latest reports and developments.	6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20THE Deadly Secrets (Jessie Shannon, 2023) (T) Thriller starring Lizzie Boys and Kate Drummond 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 News (T) 6.0 Sicily: Jewel of the Med (T) (R) 6.0 Cameras focus on the largest island in the Mediterranean 6.55 News (T) 7.0 Car Pound Cops (T) (R) Tracking cars as they are seized for a variety of offences 7.55 News (T)	7.0 Villages by the Sea (T) Ben Robinson reveals the often surprising stories of coastal villages and their communities, beginning his journey in Culross in Fife.
8.0 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) Gallop Logan presents further coverage of the evening session on day three from Alexander Stadium, including the finals of the men's 400m and women's 400m hurdles.	8.0 The Repair Shop (T) (R) Experts restore a photo of President Kennedy's children, a drum kit clock, a melted wax statuette and a traditional Venezuelan stringed instrument 9.0 Murder Trial (T) Part one of two. The case of a man found dead in Scotland.	9.50 It'll Be Alright on the Night (T) Another compilation of television dangers, gaffes and fluffed cues featuring stars including Joel Dommett, Romesh Rangarathan, Ant & Dec, Colin Murray, Amid Rajan, Susanna Reid, Joe Pasquale, Prue Leth and many more.	8.0 Extraordinary Extensions (T) A couple discover a wartime bomb shelter while they are renovating a B&B located in Canterbury 9.0 Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story (T) The story of British model Anna Chapman, uninsisted in 2010 as a Russian spy.	8.0 Casualty 24/7: Every Second Country (T) New series: A 78-year-old caretaker has chest pains and dangerously low oxygen levels 9.0999: Critical Condition (T) The team treats a woman who fights for her life after an unexplained collapse.	8.0 The Treasures of Ancient Rome (T) Alastair Snyder explores ancient Roman art. Last in the series 9.0 Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit (T) The veteran scholar explores the physical world of the Roman Empire.
10.0 News (T)10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40 MotD: UEFA Super Cup Highlights (T) Paris Saint-Germain v Aston Villa 11.10THE New Eye (Wes Craven, 2005) (T) Tense thriller	10.0 Inside No 9 (T) (R) 10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather 11.05 Evolution (T) (R) 12.05THE Kindling (Connor O'Hara, 2023) (T) Drama 1.35 Sign Zone: Amityville: An Origin Story (T) (R)	10.20 News (T) Weather 10.50 Local News (T) Weather 11.05 Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace (T) (R) 12.05 Shop on TV 3.0 Love & Death (T) (R) Detectives intensify their questioning.	10.0 24 Hours in A&E (T) (R) 11.05999: On the Front Line (T) (R) Paramedics treat a woman who is in labour 12.10 Celebrity Hunted (T) (R) An escape plot in hatched 1.05 Celebrity Hunted (T) (R)	10.0 Ambulance: Cede Red (T) (R) A driver meets help 11.05 Cause of Death (T) (R) 12.05 A&E After Dark (T) (R) 1.0 Cruise TV (T) (R) 2.0 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R) 2.50 Castle (T) (R)	10.0 I, Claudius (T)10.50 I, Claudius (T)11.45 The Treasures of Ancient Rome (T) Last in the series 12.45 Inside the Bat Cave (T) 1.45 Wainwright Walks (T) 2.15 Villages by the Sea (T)

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Thursday 13

The Big Deal With Steph McGovern, BBC Two, 9pm The presenter hosts a new art dealer reality show

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 (T) 1.15 News (T) Weather 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 News (T) Weather 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 News (T) Weather 6.30 Regional News (T) Weather 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)	11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 10.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart (T) (R) 3.35 Spy in the Ocean (T) (R) 4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Flag It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 European Athletics Championships (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 News (T) Weather 1.55 Local News (T) Weather 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 See It's to open the 22 red boxes in the right order. 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) Quiz show hosted by Ben Shephard. 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Alex, Karen, Judy and Drifton compete in the quiz. 6.0 Local News (T) Weather 6.30 News (T) Weather 7.30 Tom Kerridge Cooks Italy (T) Tom explores Italy's picturesque mountains.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flag It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz encounter a never-before-seen farmer's mini-loke. 7.0 News (T) Latest headlines.	6.0 Mikshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20 The Replacement Daughter (Bruno Hernández, 2024) (T) Thriller starring Stacy Haiduk. 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 News (T) 6.0 Crest: Jewel of the Med (T) (R) An exploration of the largest of the Greek Islands. 6.55 News (T) 7.0 Around the World in First Class with Josie Gibson (T) in Finland and Sweden. 7.55 News (T)	7.0 Villages by the Sea (T) Ben Robinson examines the remains of a lost harbour in Port Carlisle, Cumbria. 7.30 Wainwright Walks (T) Julia Bradbury climbs Scafell Pike, England's highest peak. Last in the series.
8.0 European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 (T) Further coverage of the evening session on day four. The decathlon concludes with the 1500m, and medals are awarded in the women's triple jump, pole vault and 3,000m.	8.0 The Big Deal With Steph McGovern (T) New series in which seven teams compete to make money on the art market. 9.0 A House Through Time (T) New series. David Olusoga charts British history through the lives lived in an Edinburgh property.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) Dylan admits to April that he has been struggling. 8.30 Coronation Street (T) Tim takes in Richie's daughter without consulting Sally. 9.0 The Chase Around the World (T) in Zurich, the teams face the Governess and the Dark Destroyer.	8.0 Renovation Rescue (T) Vogue Williams and Luke Mabbott help widow Fiona breathe new life into her family home that holds so many precious memories. 9.0 Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story (T) Anna Chapman is revealed to be a Russian spy in the US.	8.0 The Yorkshire Vet Special: Peter's Dream (T) New series. Cameras follow Peter Wright as he creates a Yorkshire pet memorial garden, inspired by Sussex's pet chaplain and church. 9.0 Benidorm Is Murder (T) The team investigates when a cleaner finds a body.	8.0 Operation Mincemeat (T) How Britain deceived Hitler into thinking the allies were planning to invade Greece in 1943, allowing them to land in Sicily with minimal resistance. 9.0 The Coen Brothers Story (T) Documentary on film-makers the Coen brothers.
10.0 News (T) 10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40 The Yesterday (Danny Boyle, 2019) (T) Comedy. 12.30 Alan Carr's Picture Slam (T) (R) 1.15 Weather (T) 1.20 News (T) Latest headlines.	10.0 Red Dwarf (T) (R) 10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather 11.05 Murder Trial (T) (R) 12.05 The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke (T) (R) 12.55 Sign Zone: Ambulance (T) (R)	10.0 News (T) Weather 10.30 Local News (T) Weather 10.45 The Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008) (T) 12.35 Shop on TV 3.0 The Summit (T) (R) 3.50 Unwind with ITV (T)	10.0 The Schoolgirl Terrorist? (T) One-off documentary. 11.05 Social Media Monsters (T) (R) A stalker seeks revenge. 12.10 Crime Scene Cleaners (T) (R) 1.05 Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives (T) (R)	10.0 Killer at the Crime Scene (T) (R) Crime documentary. 11.05 The Body in the Thames (T) (R) The murder of a child found dead in 2001. 12.05 Street Cops: Catching the Yoke (T) (R) Documentary.	10.0 The Inside Llewyn Davis (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2013) (T) Drama. 11.40 The Shaft (Gordon Parks, 1971) (T) Crime drama. 1.15 Wainwright Walks (T) 1.45 Operation Mincemeat (T)

Friday 14

Frank Skinner: 30 Years of Dirt, Sky One, 9pm The comedian recorded live on stage at the Sobo Theatre Walthamstow

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Animal Park (T) (R) 10.0 Trace, Track, Get My Car Back (T) (R) 10.30 European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 (T) 1.15 News (T) Weather 1.40 Regional News (T) Weather 1.50 News (T) Weather 2.0 The Hairdresser Mysteries (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 News (T) Weather 6.30 Regional News (T) Weather 7.0 The One Show at 20 (T)	11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 10.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Finish Line (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart (T) (R) 3.45 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart (T) (R) 4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Flag It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning (T) (R) 7.0 European Athletics Championships (T)	6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 News (T) Weather 1.55 Local News (T) Weather 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Bringing Point (T) (R) Quiz. 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) Sacula, Vicky, Sophy and Paul take part. 6.0 Local News (T) Weather 6.30 News (T) Weather 7.30 Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes (T) (R) Abbey visits the homes of Olivia Bowen and Emma Thynn.	6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flag It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) A stash from one of the oldest sporting goods stores in the US is uncovered. 7.0 News (T)	6.0 Mikshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20 The My Husband's Seven Wives (Louise Alston, 2024) (T) Thriller starring Kristi Mombok. 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 News (T) 6.0 Ibius: Jewel of the Med (T) (R) A visit to the Balearic island known for its nightlife and rich cultural history. 6.55 News (T) 7.0 Tom Read Wilson's Magnificent Journey (T) (R) 7.55 News (T) Headlines.	7.0 Beethoven's Seventh at the Proms (T) Gustavo Duolamei leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in its first Proms appearance for more than two decades, featuring works by Beethoven and Ortiz.
8.0 European Athletics Championships Birmingham 2026 (T) Jeannine Rodley 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.	8.0 Gardeners' World (T) As the drought takes its toll on Longmeadow, Monty Don takes clock of his garden. 9.0 Bergerac (T) A revelation about Cata's murder changes everything. 9.45 Q! XL (T) (R) Rose Matafeo, Los Sanders and Ross Noble take part in the quiz.	8.0 Emmerdale (T) Lewis surprises: Kev with an announcement. 8.30 Coronation Street (T) Lucy's presence stirs up conflict on the street. 9.0 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Celebrity Special (T) (R) With Steph McGovern and Dion Dublin.	8.0 Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich (T) Emma has a £9,500 nano-fat treatment to rejuvenate her under-eye shadows. 9.0 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (T) (R) Jon Richardson and Robin Conaty take on Rob Beckett and Kelli Smith-Bynne.	8.0 Alexander Armstrong in Sri Lanka (T) (R) Alexander heads for the paradise Isle of the Indian Ocean, exploring its golden sands and historic culture. 9.0 The Big Drought of 1975 (T) (R) A record-breaking spell of erotic weather that stretched for 16 months.	8.35 TOTP: 2000 Featuring Geri Halliwell, Tom Jones and Stereophonics, Five, Lene Martin and more. 9.05 TOTP: 2000 Gail Porter presents the pop chart programme. 9.35 TOTP: 1985 (T) Music by UB40 with Christie Hyde, Madonna and Kate Bush.
10.0 News (T) 10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40 Ann Droid (T) Comedy. 11.10 The Mothers' Instinct (Bernat Delhomme, 2024) (T) With Anne Hathaway. 12.40 Weather (T) 12.45 News (T)	10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather 11.05 The Tons of the Lords (Laura Carreira, 2024) (T) Premiere: Drama starring Joana Santos and Inés Vaz. 12.45 Sign Zone: The Rapture (T) (R) Psychological thriller.	10.0 The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox (T) 11.0 News (T) Weather 11.35 Local News (T) Weather 11.50 Inside the Langhams: Britain's First Grand Hotel (T) (R) Documentary.	10.0 Big Fat Quiz: Best Bits (T) Sarah Millican: Chatterbox Live (T) (R) Standup set. 12.10 Bill Bailey Live: Part 1roll (T) (R) 1.35 Ramsay's Hotel Hell (T) (R) Infalms. 2.25 Four in a Bed (T) (R)	10.30 Piers Morgan: Uncensored (T) News and debate. 12.05 Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law (T) (R) 1.0 Cruise TV with Lovett Book (T) (R) 2.0 Entertainment News on 5 (T)	10.05 TOTP: 1986 (T) 10.35 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC (T) 11.35 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC Volume 2 (T) 1.35 TOTP: 2000 2.05 TOTP: 2000 2.35 TOTP: 1985 (T)

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39

Saturday 15

Lost Worlds: Dawn of Civilisations, Channel 4, 8pm Bettany Hughes visits Karuhan Tepe and Gibbeli Tepe

BBC One	BBC Two	ITV1	Channel 4	5	BBC Four
6.0 Breakfast (T) 10.0 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) The opening session. 1.30 News (T) 1.40 Weather (T) 1.45 Bargian Hunt (T) (R) 2.30 1.50 Chicken Run (Peter Lord, Nick Park, 2000) (T) Animated comedy with the voice of Mel Gibson. 3.50 Escape to the Country (T) (R) 4.35 Garden Rescue (T) (R) 5.20 News (T) 5.30 Regional News (T) 5.45 The Hit List (T) 6.30 Alan Carr's Picture Slam (T)	6.05 Children's TV (T) 8.30 Gardeners' World (T) (R) 9.30 Bredingrove Garden (T) 10.0 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites (T) 11.30 Anna Haag's Big Irish Food Tour (T) (R) 12.0 Lorraine Pascale: How to Be a Better Cook (T) (R) 12.30 Homes Under the Hammer (T) (R) 1.30 Gymnastics: European Championships 2026 (T) Coverage of the third day of the women's event. 5.301.50 Waterman III (Richard Lester, 1983) (T) 7.30 Celebrating Graceland at the Proms (T)	6.0 James Martin's French Adventure (T) (R) 6.30 James Martin's American Adventure (T) (R) 7.30 Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchman's (T) (R) 9.25 News (T) 9.30 ITV Racing: The Opening Show (T) 10.30 James Martin's Saturday Morning (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) Weather 1.15 ITV Racing: Live from Newbury (T) 4.0 1.50 Motormaker (Lewis Gilbert, 1976) (T) 6.30 News (T) Weather 6.45 Local News (T) 7.0 Deal or No Deal: Celebrity Special (T)	6.05 Cheers (T) (R) 7.55 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.55 Fraser (T) (R) 11.25 The Simpsons (T) (R) 1.55 Four in a Bed (T) (R) 4.30 George Clarke's Amazing Spaces (T) (R) 5.30 Grand Designs (T) (R) Holistic therapist Kara and electrician Jonny build a four bedroom home made of stone and zinc in the rooftop hits of west Yorkshire. 6.30 News (T) 7.0 Sandi D863 (T) Hidden Wonders (T) (R) Sandi and Rakshub join the dig at the site of Cookham Abbey.	6.0 Mikshak 9.05 Entertainment News on 5 (T) 9.20 Bargian-Loving Birth in the Sun (T) (R) 9.50 Secrets of the Royal Palaces (T) (R) 10.45 Yorkshire's Poshest Hotel: Grantey Hall (T) (R) 12.40 The Royal's Uncensored (T) 1.40 Coastal Adventure with Helen, Jules & Jill (T) (R) 3.35 The Yorkshire Vet: A Decade in the Moors & Dales (T) (R) 5.0 Iron Dodd: 60 Years of Laughter (T) (R) 6.55 News (T) 7.0 Sussex: Jewel of the South Coast (T)	7.0Natural World: Africa's Lion Kings (T) Revisiting the African lines that learned to prey on elephants. 7.05Life on Earth (T) A look at how the lineage of mammals can be traced back almost 200 million years.
7.15 European Athletics Championships: Birmingham 2026 (T) Gatsby Logan presents coverage of the evening session on day six from Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, including the men's and women's 4x100m finals.	8.30 TOTP: Big Hits 2003 (T) Featuring appearances by Beyoncé, Sugababes, Coldplay, Outland, Girls About, the Darkness, Miss-Teep, Madonna and Gary Jules & Michael Andrews. 9.30 TOTP: The Story of 2003 (T) Mel Giedroy: narrates a musical review of the year.	8.01.50 Skyfall (Sam Mendes, 2012) (T) James Bond hunts the masterness behind a terrorist attack on MI6 and discovers a former agent with revenge in child. Action thriller starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fennes.	8.0Bettany Hughes's Lost Worlds: Dawn of Civilisations (T) Part two. The historian recovers the origins of civilization itself. 9.0Dictator: The Hitler Interviews (T) People who knew Hitler recall how he led Germany to defeat and disaster. Last in the series.	8.0Princess Anne: Royal Rule Breaker (T) (R) Profile of the Princess Royal, hearing from those who worked for her. 9.30Royal Heirs and Spares: Rivalry & Resentment (T) (R) Documentary exploring the relationships between heirs and their siblings.	8.0Voyages of Discovery (T) The rescue of the USS Spalding crew in 1935. Last in the series. 9.0Kabul (T) New series. Afghanistan war drama starring Sherwin Ahmadi. 9.50Kabul (T) The Taliban takes over and refugees wait outside the French embassy.
10.0 News (T) 10.15 Weather (T) 10.201.50 Mission: Impossible (Brian De Palma, 1996) (T) Thriller starring Tom Cruise. 12.05 Weather for the Week Ahead (T) 12.10 News (T)	10.30 Beyoncé at the BBC (T) (R) 11.0Sugababes at Glastonbury 2024 (T) (R) 11.401.50 The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) (T) Comedy. 1.25Sign Zone: Who Do You Think You Are? (T) (R)	10.40 News (T) Weather 11.0The Staircase (T) Michael and his family struggle. 12.10English Football League Highlights (T) 1.30 Shop on TV 3.0 Cold Case Forensics: In the Blood (T)	10.0Concorde Crash: Days that Shocked the World (T) 11.01.50 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Tom Gormican, 2022) (T) 1.01.50 Monos (Alejandro Landes, 2019) (T) Drama.	11.05 When Live TV Goes Hornby Wrong (T) (R) 1.0Cruise TV with LovelBooM (T) (R) 2.0 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R) 2.50 Around the World in First Class (T) (R)	10.45To the Manor Born (T) 11.15Keeping Up Appearances11.45Bouffants, Beehives and Bobs: The Hampas that Made Britain (T) 12.45Life on Earth (T) 1.40 Voyages of Discovery (T)

On the radio

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Radio 3 6.30am Breakfast 9.0 Sunday Morning 12.0 Private Passions 1.30 Music May 3.0 Jazz Record Requests 4.0 BBC Proms 2026 5.30 New Generation Artists 6.0 Choral Fuencong 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 9.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Unclassified 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 4 6.0am Today 9.0 Across the Red Line 9.30 How Did We Get Here? No World Order 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 Behind the Crime 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 You and Yours 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Alone 2.45 Opening Lines 3.0 Great Lives 3.30 You're Dead to Me 4.0 Burnham's Pledge 4.30 The Alchem Calmet 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Just a Minute 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 The Briefing Room 8.30 BBC Inside Science 9.0 Across the Red Line 9.30 How Did We Get Here? No World Order 10.0 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: The Vicar of Wakefield 11.0 Intimacy 11.30 A Good Read 12.0 News and Weather 12.30 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As BBC World Service 5.0 News Summary 5.04 Last Word 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 Farming Today	Radio 5 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 6 6.0am Today 9.0 Across the Red Line 9.30 How Did We Get Here? No World Order 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 Behind the Crime 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 You and Yours 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Alone 2.45 Opening Lines 3.0 Great Lives 3.30 You're Dead to Me 4.0 Burnham's Pledge 4.30 The Alchem Calmet 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Just a Minute 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 The Briefing Room 8.30 BBC Inside Science 9.0 Across the Red Line 9.30 How Did We Get Here? No World Order 10.0 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: The Vicar of Wakefield 11.0 Intimacy 11.30 A Good Read 12.0 News and Weather 12.30 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As BBC World Service 5.0 News Summary 5.04 Last Word 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day	Radio 7 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 8 6.0am Today 9.0 Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics 9.30 The Guitar Story 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Three Ages of Child 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 Scars Secrets 12.32 Sliced Bread 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Drama: Security 3.0 The Natural Life 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Feedback 4.0 The Briefing Room 4.30 BBC Inside Science 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 At Your Own Peril	Radio 9 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 10 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Saturday Morning 12.0 Earlier... with tools Holland 1.0 Key Changes Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music 2.0 Record Review 4.0 Sound of Cinema 5.0 This Classical Life 6.0 Music Planet 7.0 New Generation Artists 7.30 BBC Proms 2026 9.45 Talking Music 10.30 New Music Show 12.30 Through the Night
Tuesday Radio 3 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 4 6.0am Today 9.0 Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics 9.30 The Guitar Story 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Three Ages of Child 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 Scars Secrets 12.32 Sliced Bread 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Drama: Security 3.0 The Natural Life 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Feedback 4.0 The Briefing Room 4.30 BBC Inside Science 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 At Your Own Peril	Radio 5 6.0am Today 9.0 Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics 9.30 The Guitar Story 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Three Ages of Child 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 Scars Secrets 12.32 Sliced Bread 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Drama: Security 3.0 The Natural Life 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Feedback 4.0 The Briefing Room 4.30 BBC Inside Science 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 At Your Own Peril	Radio 6 6.0am Today 9.0 Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics 9.30 The Guitar Story 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Three Ages of Child 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 Scars Secrets 12.32 Sliced Bread 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Drama: Security 3.0 The Natural Life 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Feedback 4.0 The Briefing Room 4.30 BBC Inside Science 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 At Your Own Peril	Radio 7 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 8 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Saturday Morning 12.0 Earlier... with tools Holland 1.0 Key Changes Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music 2.0 Record Review 4.0 Sound of Cinema 5.0 This Classical Life 6.0 Music Planet 7.0 New Generation Artists 7.30 BBC Proms 2026 9.45 Talking Music 10.30 New Music Show 12.30 Through the Night
Tuesday Radio 3 6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live 4.0 Composer of the Week: Montgomery 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026 10.0 Night Tracks 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 Through the Night	Radio 4 6.0am Today 9.0 Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics 9.30 The Guitar Story 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Three Ages of Child 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 Scars Secrets 12.32 Sliced Bread 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Drama: Security 3.0 The Natural Life 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Feedback 4.0 The Briefing Room 4.30 BBC Inside Science 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 At Your Own Peril	Radio 5 6.0am Today 9.0 Outside Hangs: Stands Up for the Classics 9.30 The Guitar Story 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 The Three Ages of Child 11.45 Book of the Week: Hiroshima, 8.15: The Lost Memoir 12.0 News 12.04 Scars Secrets 12.32 Sliced Bread 1.0 The World 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.0 The Archer's 2.15 Drama: Security 3.0 The Natural Life 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal 3.30 Feedback 4.0 The Briefing Room 4.30 BBC Inside Science 5.0 PM 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Icklewick PM 7.0 The Archer's 7.15 Front Row 8.0 At Your Own Peril	Radio 6 6.0am News and Papers 6.07 This Natural Life 6.30 Farming Today This Week 7.0 Today 9.0 What Happened to Counter-Culture? 9.30 What's Up Docs? 10.0 You're Dead to Me 10.30 Soul Music 11.0 Radical 11.30 From Our Own Correspondent 12.0 News 12.04 Toast 12.30 The People Have Spoken 1.0 News 1.10 Any Questions? 2.05 Any Answers? 2.45 The Archer's 3.0 Drama: Fork in the Road: Chorie on Top 4.0 Weekend Woman's Hour 5.0 Saturday PM 5.30 Unsettled 5.54 Shipping Forecast 6.0 Six O'Clock News 6.15 Loose Ends 7.0 Last Word Doing Death Differently 7.15 Changing the Odds 8.0 Archive on A Field Quotes Beyond La Revolution 9.0 Ten Nights That Made the Green Movement 10.0 News 10.15 The Food Programme 11.0 Dips-Koch OK Computer 11.30 Brain of Britain 12.0 Midnight News 12.15 Take Four Books 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As BBC World Service 5.30 News Summary 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Bells on Sunday 5.45 In Touch

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Critics

Television

Plantation horror Possession is TV's answer to Sinners

Barbara Ellen

Possession

Sky Atlantic/Now

Alley Cats

Netflix

The Shards

Disney+

'Embodies the beauty and pain of the island's history': Karla Crome's Possession, below. Inset, Diane Morgan voices Olive in Ricky Gervais's 'god awful' Alley Cats. Des Millie

Like many a gothic thriller, Karla Crome's Possession is set around a creepy old house. The difference is that this one – Hope Hill – is situated on an enslaver's former Jamaican plantation.

Cynical lawyer Claudia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) – a British woman of Jamaican heritage who barely blinks when her boss says she's been chosen for the "optics" – is sent there to untangle complications with an inheritance.

The owner of Hope Hill has died, but instead of leaving his £50m estate to his son Oliver (Jonny Lee Miller), he has bequeathed it to an enigmatic local man named Cudjoe East (Sheldon Shepherd), who tells Claudia he is more than 300 years old and was enslaved on the plantation. The complex premise becomes yet more layered as the five episodes, tautly directed by Jamaican film-maker Storm Sautter, unfold.

The show is set between modern-day Jamaica and the 18th-century plantation, with the two timelines colliding in the eerily unchanged house. In the 1760s, there's the unsparing horrors of slavery; in the present-day (spoiler alert), Claudia releases the spirit of evil plantation mistress Charlotte, played by Bel Powley, who uses a voodoo-like power called obeah to zombify people.

Possession deals with a lot of themes – colonialism, reparations, racial heritage – but the supernatural element isn't neglected, with grisly enchantments, mosquito swarms, people slammed against ceilings and more. Possession embodies the beauty and pain of the island's history, aided by a stirring soundtrack that leads with a haunting theme song, Where I'm Coming From, by Jamaican artist Lila Ike.

Just as the acting is flawless (Mbatha-Raw, Powley and Miller all give career-best performances), the script crackles with audacity. It's hard to believe this is Crome's debut work as a series creator (she is also an actor, with credits including Am I Being Unreasonable?).

In odd moments, the series gets woolly, and an important political point – that after abolition, enslavers (rather than enslaved people) were compensated by the British government with a £20m loan that taxpayers only finished repaying in 2015 – is relayed clunkily.

The show may have worked better in a leaner cinematic form. Here it's a TV cousin to films such as Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Jordan Peele's Get Out: a tense, intelligent modern horror about race that's determined to get you hiding behind your sofa cushions.

Alley Cats is a six-part adult animation (15 minutes apiece) about stray felines. It's written, created and co-directed by Ricky Gervais (the other director is the

animator Elliot Dear). It draws on Gervais's love for animals and boasts a cast of people he likes to work with, including Diane Morgan, Tom Basden and David Earl.

I'll cut to the chase: it's god awful. The problem isn't the animation style, which is old-school, like a revamped Top Cat. The problem is the story – in that there isn't one.

The promising introduction shows an idealised English countryside, Jerusalem booming over the hedgerows, before homing in on a derelict house where the cat gang lives. The moggies mainly hang out and natter. Gervais is Gus, drawn as a knock-off Garfield; Basden is Ponce, who's ridiculed for having loving owners and being neutered; Morgan is spacey Olive; Earl is sexual degenerate Peke, and so on.

The script comprises endless faux-edgy riffing on a variety of subjects (the climate crisis, AI, suicide bombers), while the humour is unfunny, crude and 90% swearing.

Elsewhere, Alley Cats tries to be capital-M moving, when, frankly, Gervais hasn't pulled poignancy off since Tim gave Dawn the art kit in his masterwork The Office. A kitten, played by Jo Hartley, repeatedly muses on death, making you think of Gervais's Afterlife. At other times, there's sentimental sludge about life being worth it.

How frustrating: a cartoon about delinquent felines could have been amazing. Adult animation can, furthermore, be such a surreal and liberating medium; just look at BoJack Horseman, starring Arrested Development's Will Arnett, which is also available on Netflix. There are some laughs – a cat knocking a plant pot over simply to be annoying, or others stoned on catnip – but, generally, Alley Cats is crass, repetitive and shockingly lazy for someone of Gervais's abilities.

The Shards is a glossy, hyperreal nine-part drama, created by Ryan Murphy and adapted from Bret Easton Ellis's 2023 autofiction novel about a group of affluent 1981 Los Angeles teenagers dealing with, among other nightmares, a serial killer called the Trawler.

Igby Rigney plays Bret (the author's proxy), a closeted gay man delivering a voiceover dripping with ennui. What appears to be out-of-control nepo casting could be a clever linking mechanism to 1980s idols: Cindy Crawford's model and actor daughter, Kaia Gerber, plays the perfect Susan, while Homer Gere (son of Richard, Crawford's former partner) is the mysterious, perhaps dangerous, newcomer Robert.

Easton-Ellis is listed as co-creator and writer, and The Shards is faithful to his clinical tone, complete with cultural allusions to Joan Didion and The Shining. There are echoes, too, of horror movies from the period.

Inadequate adults include Evan Rachel Wood as a frustrated Hollywood housewife (who says to her daughter: "You are the disappointment of my life") and Jordan Roth as an Andy Warhol-style assistant.

When the book was published, some took the Trawler to be a metaphor for Aids, but this is much less evident here. The ending feels too pat and, while there are the expected 80s decadences (drugs, drink, smoking, materialism), some gay love scenes seem weirdly restrained in these post-Heated Rivalry times (Lukewarm Rivalry?).

Still, the dialogue is snappy ("You're a weak flatline of a person"; cocaine is "practically a vitamin"), the music is groovy (Duran Duran feature heavily) and the cast pout it up, as if they've been sacked en masse from a John Hughes movie for having bad attitudes. The Shards is extremely pleased with itself, but it's a lot of fun.

WATCH LIST

Barbara Ellen's best of the rest

Ted Lasso

(Apple TV+)

Return of the hugely popular, schmaltzy Jason Sudeikis (below) football comedy. This time, American coach, Ted (Sudeikis) looks after a women's team. Also starring Hannah Waddingham and Tanya Reynolds.

Big Chicken: A Fast

Food Conspiracy

(Netflix)

A documentary in which Mo Gilligan eats fried chicken three times a day for 28 days to see the effects, similar to what Morgan Spurlock did with McDonalds fast food in the 2004 film, Super Size Me. Gilligan also looks into farming methods.

Elvis, the Colonel and

the Mob

(Channel 4)

A docuseries focusing on singer Elvis Presley's late-career Las Vegas residencies and probing his manager Colonel Tom Parker's links to the mafia.

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It deals with a lot of themes – colonialism, reparations, racial heritage – but the supernatural element isn't neglected