The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

Talking points NEWS 21

19 February 2022 THEWEEK

Countrymanners: “be nice and share”

“Inmostthings,success

dependsonknowinghow

longit takesto succeed.”

Montesquieu,quoted

in Forbes

“Thestateof beingenviedis

whatconstitutesglamour.”

JohnBerger,quotedin

The Times

“Anoldpersonsuffers

thelossof oneof the

greatesthumanrights:

he is nolongerjudged

by hisequals.”

J.W. von Goethe,quoted

on The Browser

“Itis onlytheblindeye

of theadultthatfindsthe

familiaruninteresting.”

MargaretWiseBrown,

quotedin The NewYorker

“Aclearconscienceis the

suresignof abad memory.”

MarkTwain,quoted

on RedBubble.com

“Thebadnewsis time

flies.Thegoodnewsis

you’rethepilot.”

EntrepreneurMichael

Altshuler,quotedin

Reader’sDigest

“Griefis theinevitable

andworthyburdenof

lovinganother.”

JoanneCacciatorein

The Guardian

“Abadrenditionof youis

betterthanagoodrendition

of somebodyelse.”

WillieDixon,quotedin

The Economist

“Ourknowledgecanonly

be finite,whileour

ignorancemustnecessarily

be infinite.”

Karl Popper,quotedin

The SundayTimes

PrinceAndrewhas“not
just completed hisown
humiliatingdownfall,he
hasbroughtaboutatruly
shamingdayfortheentire
royalfamily”,saidtheDaily
Mail.Onlylastmonth,the
Dukeof York defiantlytold
theworldhewould demand
atrialbyjurytoclearhis
namein thelawsuitthat
VirginiaGiuffre had
broughtagainst him,in
whichsheclaimedthat he
hadsexuallyassaultedher
whenshewas 17yearsold.
Nowhehascapitulated,payingasumreported
to beintheregionof£10mtosomeone he
claimshehas nomemoryofmeeting–and
agreeingto“demonstratehisregret”forhis
associationwith thepaedophileJeffreyEpstein
bymakinga“substantialdonation”toGiuffre’s
charitysupportingsexualabusevictims.“Hehas
notadmittedliability.”Hehasn’tapologised.
“But inthecourt ofpublicopinion, apay-off
maybe consideredaconfessionofguilt.”

“Wewillprobablyneverknowexactlyhow
much ittooktomaketheVirginiaGiuffre
case goaway,onceandforall,”saidCamilla
TomineyinTheDailyTelegraph.Butaclue
wasgiven byherlawyerDavidBoies inJanuary,
whenhe saidthat itwasn’taboutthemoneyfor
hisclient–but“ifyouhadasettlementthatwas
largeenoughto be, ineffect,avindication,then
it’ssomethingwewouldobviouslylookat”.The

settlementcertainlymarks

achangeoftoneforthe

prince.His“regrets”over

hisassociationwithEpstein

areanimprovementonhis

“carcrashNewsnight

interview”in 2019, when

he saidtheconnectionshe

hadmade viathefinancier

were“actuallyveryuseful”.

Andbysayingthathe

“neverintendedtomalign

MsGiuffre’scharacter”and

commendingherbravery,

he hasfinallyshown“some

of theempathythathas

beenlackingthroughoutthissorrysaga”.(Only

inOctoberlast year,his lawyershadaccusedher

ofseeking“apaydayat hisexpense”.)

“Courtiershavelongfearedthatthe spectre of

theQueen’ssecondsonbeingsuedforsexual

assault wouldcastadeathlypall overthe

Queen’splatinumjubilee,”saidHilaryRose

inThe Times.There willbe sighsofrelieffrom

thePalacethatat leastnowthat won’thappen.

Butheremainsapersonofinterestto the FBI

investigationintoEpstein. “WhatPrince

Andrew’sfuturelookslike isnowunclear.”Not

really,saidStephenBates inTheGuardian.It’s

over forhimasaroyal.Hisbehaviour,andhis

handlingoftheallegations against him,have

costtheprinceeverything–“hismuch-prized

positiononpalacebalconies,hisperks,allhis

militaryranks, titlesandhonorifics”.His

banishmentfrompubliclifeis“complete”.

Prince Andrew: vindicationfor his accuser?

Thetraditionalresponseisto
yell“Getoffmyland!”,said
SarahHussainintheEastern
Daily Press.Butunder new
guidance,farmersarebeing
advised toask trespassersif
theyarelost,andtoofferto
helpthemontheirway.The
advice,part oftheupdated
CountrysideCode,was
publishedby NaturalEngland
last week.It instructs
landownersto makerights of waymore
accessible,to use“friendlylanguage”onsigns,
andnot to putup“misleadingsignage,such as
‘bull in field’, if it is nottrue”.Onfootpaths, the
guidancesuggests,stilesshould be swappedfor
“accessibleself-closing gates”.Ifdogsare
worryinglivestock, farmersshould calmly “ask
theownerto recall or catchtheirdog, chasethe
dogoutof theareaor scareit away”;dogsare
to be shotonlyasa“lastresort”.TheCodealso
advises visitorsto be “considerateto those living
in,workingandenjoyingthecountryside”,
adding:“Benice,sayhello,sharethe space.”

It’s agoodtime“tostartanewchapter in the
countryside’srelationship with thegeneral
public”,saidSarahToddinThe Yorkshire
Post.Duringthepandemic, “Britain’sgreen

andpleasantlandhasbeen

engagedinits ownbattle”.

People whoweredenied

foreignholidays,withfree

timeontheirhandsthanks

to the furlough,floodedthe

countryside. “They’vecycled,

run, dog-walkedandrambled.

They’vedouble parked,

littered, leftdog messbags

hungonhedges.”It’sthe

townies,notthefarmers, that

reallyneedtheguidance.Manyseemunaware

thatmostof thecountrysideisprivatelyowned,

eveninnationalparks.Awfulattackson

livestockare“rocketing”.“Never hasthe gulf

between townandcountrybeengreater.”

“Everyoneshouldbeabletowanderin the

countryside,” said Alice Thomsonin TheTimes.

“Farmersneed to rememberthat they are

custodiansofthe land”:they certainlyshould

make footpaths accessible,be polite to strangers,

andputupafewhelpfulhintstostopthem

“beingtrampled by heifers”.But it should work

bothways. “Farmersaren’temployedby Disney

–the countrysideisn’tathemepark.”Walkers

mustrealisethatcropsandlivestock are“a

farmer’s livelihood”.So“keepyourdogona

leadandalways remember to shut thegate”.

Statisticsoftheweek

Threein ten UK studentslast

yearwerestudyingeithera

medicine-relatedsubject,or

businessand management.

HigherEducation

StatisticsAgency

One in 42 homesin Britainis

worth£1mor more.In the

Southeastit is one in 24, in

Londonone in 11.

TheSundayTimes/Savills

Wit &

Wisdom

Astile:onthewayout?

AndrewwithGiuffreandMaxwell