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Unlock trusted, first-hand reporting, free-thinking opinion and a wealth of practical advice.
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Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
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The shutdown of US aviation at absolute peak time yesterday afternoon is going to tear up the travel plans of at least a million people, maybe more.
More than 5,000 flights were cancelled and 10,000 were delayed in the US alone, with the chaos expected to ripple out across the world’s airports this weekend.
Thankfully, there does not seem to have been any evil intent behind the system shutdown. It is, I’m afraid, yet another case of air traffic control equipment not being quite smart enough.
You’ll recall the British Nats system failed along with its backup system on August bank holiday 2023. On that occasion, we had 2,000 flights cancelled, and hundreds of thousands of passengers had their travel plans badly disrupted. This, though, is of an entirely bigger order of magnitude.
It’s particularly concerning to people who are booked to travel transatlantic from the US to the UK. If you are with British Airways or Virgin Atlantic, you’re covered by air passenger rights rules. The airline must provide hotels and meals for you. But if you’re on American Airlines, Delta or United, those don’t apply when you are flying from a US airport, so you could be on your own.
Such is the scale of the disruption that, with pilots, passengers, cabin crew and planes all in the wrong places, it is going to take days before people are back where they need to be.
System meltdown grounds all US flights ➤
Follow the latest news in our live blog ➤
Listen to the latest episode of Simon’s podcast, The Travel Expert ➤
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Laura Donnelly
Health Editor
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“Will you kill me? You know how to do it, Clare.”
Those were the desperate words of Mary, Lord Cameron’s mother, to his sister as Alzheimer’s disease tightened its grip.
Speaking to me this week, the former prime minister movingly described the anguish of watching his once formidable mother lose her independence, her ability to communicate and, long before that, her will to live.
He also spoke candidly about his regrets over what more he could have done in government to improve dementia care, and his determination to make breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatments available on the NHS.
For me, this was a particularly poignant conversation. My own mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s seven years ago, so I know something of the heartbreak this disease can bring.
Lord Cameron’s account also brought home why we cannot accept the current state of dementia care as inevitable.
The first drugs shown to slow Alzheimer’s are now licensed in Britain, but remain unavailable on the NHS. Patients face long waits for diagnosis, while too few are offered the chance to take part in clinical trials.
He believes ministers must do more. His family’s story is a reminder of just how much is at stake.
This interview is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading ➤
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Jonathan Aitken
Right now the comedian appears to be on an ego trip about himself rather than on a true journey towards God
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Charles Moore
A reminder of hard power – as seen from the Rock of Gibraltar
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Sophia Money-Coutts
Don’t mention ‘Xmas’ – and other words I’m outlawing this Christmas
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• The head of the SAS regimental association has accused the BBC of misleading the public as part of a witch hunt against troops. An SAS source said coverage had been “vexatious and fallacious”.
• The Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily because of the “incompetence” of its crew, not because of design faults, Italian investigators have claimed.
• An asylum camp next to the Oxfordshire village of Piddington will pose a risk to women and girls living nearby, the Government has admitted.
• Scotland Yard has launched a criminal investigation into “serious” sex abuse claims against David Walliams. The force said it had received a number of complaints about non-recent sexual offences.
• Rhododendrons are at risk of extinction after this summer’s extreme weather. The flower was particularly affected because it originates from cool, moist mountain environments.
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Pink rhododendron flowers at Bodnant Gardens, North Wales
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The National Education Union, Britain’s biggest teaching union, is preparing to challenge Labour’s conversion therapy bill amid fears that teachers could face criminal prosecution for how they handle pupils who want to change gender. School leaders and governors warn that the proposals could put staff in an impossible position, forcing them to choose between safeguarding rules and the risk of a prison sentence of up to five years. Lawyers say even enforcing single-sex lavatories and changing rooms could fall foul of the legislation, which the Government insists will not criminalise ordinary safeguarding.
Continue reading ➤
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Maude Apatow plays Sally Bowles in the Rebecca Frecknall revival of Cabaret in 2023
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Musical theatre has always generated debate. For everyone who thinks Stephen Sondheim is a god, there are those who think he is wilfully recondite and that we should all worship instead at the altar of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Is there little to admire beyond the commercial nous of Lord Lloyd-Webber? Are jukebox musicals simply shameless cash cows? In her definitive list, lifelong devotee Marianka Swain ranks her top 50. While all the above are included, there are some curveballs guaranteed to make you start scouring Spotify (or YouTube, if you prefer). Does the list honour Cabaret, Cats, Carousel and Camelot, and what is at number one?
Continue reading ➤
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Telegraph Money has identified 24 of the most sought-after locations across the UK, with plenty of green space, a friendly community and a major city and urban amenities within easy reach. As prices slow and competition drops, now might be the time to make the move to one of these desirable neighbourhoods.
Continue reading ➤
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It is difficult to imagine a path to a Republican presidency without Texas and its 40 electoral college votes, but in the midterms the Democrats turned the tide, writes Poppy Coburn, host of The Right Track. Voters I spoke to have dared to believe that the state will remain blue in two years. Now there is a historic opportunity for the party to take advantage of demographic changes and a weakened Republican Party before the presidential race. Time will tell whether the remarkable midterm result was a mere blip, or the first sign of a consequential and permanent change.
Continue reading ➤
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We’re in for an especially chilly and soggy winter, according to forecasters. Thankfully, fashion brands have stepped up to offer plenty of practical solutions that still feel stylish – there was even a parade of cagoules on the Chloe catwalk at Paris fashion week. Allow Tamara Abraham to help you get kitted out before the deluge, whether it’s mastering your waterproof footwear or finding an elegant solution to going umbrella-free.
Continue reading ➤
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Don’t know what you’re going to eat this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Every Saturday, Diana Henry, The Telegraph’s award-winning cookery writer, brings you three recipes for a perfect weekend meal, while William Sitwell shares his view from the culinary world – and a recommendation or two.
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Poached pears with sloe gin and blackberries
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Diana Henry
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It was a piece on pears that got me my first commission as a food writer. I had never sat down and thought about their texture, colour and flavour but I’d obviously been doing it subconsciously, because the copy fell on to the page. Focusing on a food in that way makes you appreciate it more.
Part of the reason I love pears is that they don’t get their due. Apples are so annoyingly bright and optimistic – always picked from the fruit bowl first. Ask me what my last meal would be and I’d say pears baked in Marsala. Whatever you poach or bake peeled pears in, the flavour – and colour – penetrates their flesh. Red wine, hibiscus syrup, sloe gin – they all have the power to change the pear without cancelling out its essential “pear-ness”. Try these pears with sloe gin and blackberries to find out.
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Butter and brown-sugar-baked pears with rice pudding
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Last week, I ate pears that had sat in red-wine syrup for so long they were almost black. Gorgeous. They would have been good nestled in almond or hazelnut frangipane in a tart – what a contrast of flavours and colours! Contrast is not always what you want: these brown-sugar-baked pears served with rice pudding, for example, make a harmonious autumnal dessert.
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Pear and bitter-leaf salad with Gorgonzola Dolce, ricotta and hazelnuts
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One of my favourite salads, meanwhile, is pear, chicory, blue cheese and nuts, made with slices of perfectly ripe pear or slices fried in a little butter until golden. Last Christmas, I made this for a meal that was full of big flavours and I wanted to soften the impact of the blue cheese. The result was this pear salad with Gorgonzola Dolce, ricotta and hazelnuts. If you make it, try to get fresh ricotta, rather than longer-life versions from the supermarkets, if you can. It will make all the difference.
One final tip: pears will ripen in a bowl on the kitchen table but perfect ripeness is fleeting. You need to keep an eye on them and pounce at the right time to make that salad. Even unripe, hard-as-brick pears soften with heat. There will be pudding, then, even with the most unpromising specimens.
Find me here every Saturday and in my Recipes newsletter, which you can sign up to here.
Meanwhile, the ceiling has quite literally come down on William Sitwell’s business...
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William Sitwell
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After a restorative visit from our local painter decorator, all seemed calm this week at The White Hart in West Somerset.
Then it started raining, which it does in these parts, non-stop from October to May. All the better for a cosy pub and restaurant, you might think.
Except the weather exposed a hole in our business plan. In the name of muddling by (these are trying times for hospitality businesses, remember), we had chosen not to address a hole in the roof and instead opted to paint over stains caused by water ingress.
Which is probably why, after a good rain shower during dinner, the ceiling quite literally came down on my business.
It left the back hall – where the back door meets the main staircase leading up to the guest rooms (we are higgledy-piggledy exemplified) – resembling a model village in post-tsunami pose.
This wasn’t just a physical collapse, it was a metaphor. Patched jobs return to haunt you. So, have I learnt my lesson? Yes, but under this Labour Government, it’s one I can’t afford to put into practice. Instead, as I write, we’re patching up the ceiling, hoping this autumnal bout of sunshine will last for a bit longer yet.
Fixing the damn roof will have to wait.
Read William’s full column ➤
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Early birds
Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories.
Orlando writes...
Is lateness ever excusable? That was the question in Wednesday’s newsletter, in which I confessed to my own occasionally elastic understanding of time. Thanks to everyone who replied, even in order to upbraid me.
“It is absolutely unforgivable,” writes Glennis Toms, “as it shows a flagrant disregard for other people’s time.”
However, she highlights another vice: “The insistence on being ridiculously early for everything – appointments, flights, events of any kind. My husband does this and it means that we frequently waste a lot of time hanging around waiting.”
Another reader commends “the age-old Armed Forces maxim: ‘Never be later than five minutes early’. It works well in both formal and social settings”.
Patrick Hodgson, meanwhile, recalls how, during his career, “if anyone was late to a meeting, they tended to get most of the tasks, and maybe a cheap clock for Secret Santa”.
I mentioned the Cornish term “dreckly”, used to denote something that is unlikely to happen any time soon. The Rev Colin Leyshon draws attention to “a lovely phrase we have in the Welsh Valleys: ‘I will be there now in a minute’.” That’s the spirit.
In yesterday’s newsletter, I questioned whether a British accent really does attract special treatment in the US, on the grounds that it never has for me. Maybe I’m the problem. “I lived there for seven years,” replies one reader. “Getting wrong numbers could keep me on the phone for an hour or more because the caller ‘loved my accent’.”
Another recalls: “On a visit to American friends in South Carolina, we were invited to join them for dinner with members of their extended family. I noticed their 12-year-old nephew had been looking at me with undisguised curiosity for some time, when eventually he said: ‘Gee, you sound just like Harry Potter’.”
That’s all from me for this week folks. I’ll be back on Monday to bring you the best Telegraph talking points. In the meantime, you can contact me here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.
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Welcome to Andrew Baker’s Saturday quiz. Test your knowledge below to see if you have been paying attention to our newsletters this week...
1. What position is held by Dame Antonia Romeo?
2. Which award did 81-year-old M John Harrison win this week?
3. Diana Henry, our food expert has written beautifully of her childhood in a small seaside town in Northern Ireland. Which town?
4. Julian Hipwood captained England’s team in which sport?
5. Which astronaut took the first “space selfie” on the Gemini 12 mission in 1966?
Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was CONFORMED. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.
Plus, can you tackle The 1% Club? Scroll down to see if you got the questions right – and play for free on our website and app.
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1851 | Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is first published in the US
1994
| First public trains run through the Channel Tunnel, linking England and France
2015 | End of the Bataclan Siege in Paris. Shortly before 1am, French security forces storm the theatre, where terrorists had held hostages and killed 90 people (see our coverage in the following day’s paper)
Birthdays | Travis Barker (51), Condoleezza Rice (72), the King (78)
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Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor
I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.
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Quiz answers:
- Cabinet Secretary
- The Booker Prize
- Portstewart
- Polo
- Buzz Aldrin
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Unlock trusted, first-hand reporting, free-thinking opinion and a wealth of practical advice.
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