The Spectator

We all need friends we can go to when we are in trouble, and when we are in disgrace. Seeking forgiveness for our sins requires us to recognise them as our own.

Houghton stood by his friends who were disgraced not because he felt their disgrace was undeserved but because he believed disgrace was not all there was.

I don't know what happened to my patient after they left my care. The last I said to them was that they had a family, and that guilt, however awful, does not wipe out what we owe to others. I don't know whether they believed me.

✍️ Druin Burch

Article | spectator.com/article/the-po…

Douglas Murray says the roots of Islamic anti-Semitism can be traced back hundreds of years, and explains why Judaism continues to stand as a rebuke to Islam.

Watch in full | youtube.com/watch?v=-SjngL… | @michaelgove @douglaskmurray

In a metaphorical sense, Poundland is us. We're the land of the pound, but these days not much else: dwindling industries, failing public services, shrunken armed forces, Budgets that duck every difficult decision.

We're also a nation of half-shuttered high streets, in which Poundland bargain shops are in many places one of the few remaining points of brightness.

✍️ Martin Vander Weyer

Article | spectator.com/article/dont-l… | @VanderWeyer

Both genders are becoming increasingly tempted by a career in porn, seen as more accessible and socially acceptable than ever before. The CSJ found that almost 3 million young Brits have considered becoming 'OnlyFans stars’.

OnlyFans is a host site for predominantly explicit content creators.

None of this means young people want love any less. Single people who are looking for a relationship are nearly twice as likely to watch porn several times a week as those who are not. Porn is not replacing the desire for connection; it is a poor substitute for it.

And every hour spent with the substitute is an hour not spent learning the harder, richer business of real intimacy.

✍️ Edward Davies

Article | spectator.com/article/we-nee…

The treasure of Southwell is the Chapter House, decorated with startlingly naturalistic carvings of leaves, animals and mythical beasts. There are pigs eating acorns, a goatherd blowing his horn, and a green man with leaves growing from his mouth.

These are perhaps the finest early English gothic sculptures anywhere in the country. The Revd W.E. Hodgson was right when he wrote: 'Other churches may be older, a few may be larger, but none are more beautiful.'

✍️ Luke Shore

Article | spectator.com/article/one-of…